The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit
by Homely
Summary: He was a myth, almost never showing his face; to see him is like to see a shooting star fall right out of a pure black sky. Yet there he was, writhing like the snake he'd once been, slithering through the cracks of Konoha's dead night for only her eyes to see. SasuHina, post-war, in universe.
1. Man of Legend

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

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_**chapter one; **man of legend_

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"Fuck my life..." A near silent mutter chimed, breaking the white noise of crickets chirping. A young woman; a kunoichi, faltered down the lone streets of Konoha.

Hinata wasn't sure what she would even doing out so late; she should have been home, sleeping in her bed by now, not stumbling back drunk from the bar at 3 am. Her senses were dulled, though she was unaware of how impaired she truly was. Her jumbled thoughts swirled around the idea of Naruto; _her _Naruto, who after all these years, she would no longer be able to call hers.

No, Naruto was never really hers.

As much as the Hyuga wanted to, even in her saddened state, she could not hate Naruto nor Sakura for the heavy feeling in her chest. She blamed herself, and solely herself, because it wasn't in her nature to hold a vendetta against anyone _but _herself. _If I'd treated him right, he wouldn't have left me. If I'd been strong enough, he wouldn't have chosen her instead; if only I were different, if I were different, he would still want me. _

Hinata collapsed then, bursting into a hysterical bout of tears. She was thankful that no one was out in the streets to see her like this, although she figured that even if there were, she wouldn't care. Her head was spinning from the excess sake she devoured prior to this scene, and her long dark bangs had overgrown the past few weeks, so they clung in stringy pieces to the water on her face.

Hammered, Hinata blundered to her feet and used to wall for support as she could hardly stand for a moment. She was on her way back to her apartment, but found herself idly wandering in a different direction. She found herself heading straight towards Naruto's "Hokage Estate", which was once her home up until about a month ago. She plopped on the ground a fair distance away.

All of the lights were off, except one; the bedroom light. Hinata wondered what her ex boyfriend was doing up so late, and she mused for a moment that perhaps he was just as upset about the breakup as she.

She was quick to erase this thought, reminding herself that Naruto cheated on _her, _not the other way around.

Something flickered nearby; Hinata's eyes automatically darted to the wall, which she now noticed had a figure stalking on top of it. She saw a flash of red, and in response activated her Byakugan, noting the immense chakra this individual was emanating. Had Hinata been sober, she may have feared this person could be a threat, but for some reason she was at ease, telling herself that he was simply a Konoha ninja going on a late night stroll.

And she was right, sort of.

As the shinobi drew near, Hinata began to recognize his presence, then felt silly for not realizing who it was sooner. No one else has eyes that flash blood-red even in the midst of night.

It was strange though, she thought; he was almost like a legend; a silent god who only the chosen ones could see. He was a myth, almost never showing his face; to see him is like to see a shooting star fall right out of a pure black sky. Yet there he was, writhing like the snake he'd once been, slithering through the cracks of Konoha's dead night for only her eyes to see.

Sasuke Uchiha was infamous, just like Hinata Hyuga herself, but they were not similar; no, he was a mortar, and she was a stone.

Hinata knew how the story went; Sometimes, if one could be so lucky, they would see the last Uchiha lurk the outskirts of the city, leaving nothing but a silent trail of cigarette smoke behind him. The ex Hyuga heiress could often be seen mid-day picking her favourite flowers at the park.

And as Sasuke Uchiha passed by her, locking eyes for only a split second, Hinata hoped that he would stop and say something to her; that they could engage in a small conversation after not seeing each other for over three years. Hinata wished to speak to the legend himself, to prove that he was even still alive. The moon gleamed off his eyes, and Hinata observed sheepishly, in awe, having forgotten how mystical it felt to peer into the eyes of a Sharingan wielder.

But just as quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone.

Hinata sat in the dirt, dumbfounded, and wondered if she was really drunk enough to hallucinate.

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**Author's Note: **Hey guys, thanks for checking out this story! I know there isn't much in this chapter, but more of the actual plot line is going to be revealed in the next chapter, if you're interested ;) the title of this story is actually the title of a **La Dispute **song, because I am uncreative and couldn't think of one myself. xD

Anyway if you've been intrigued by this at all, please leave a **review **and let me know what you think!


	2. Stalked

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

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_**chapter two; **stalked_

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Hinata's sandles clanked against the stone bricks as she entered the village, back from yet another solo mission. Three months had passed, and still, she exiled herself from her friends and family. Hinata was picking up as many solo missions as possible to keep herself away from the village. Every brick, every pebble in that whole place reminded her of him.

A warm feeling of nostalgia washed over her as she reminisced a more simple time in the village, dating back to before the war, before Sasuke Uchiha ran away, even before Hinata knew Naruto. She could smile sometimes when she thought about the days of her childhood.

She could sense Naruto's chakra nearing her, and she sighed. She wished that he wouldn't come and greet her every time she got back from a mission.

"Hinata-chan," His familiar voice rang in her ears. When he stopped in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to look at him. "You were gone a lot longer than expected." The Hokage commented.

"Y-Yeah." Was all Hinata could really say.

"How did the mission go?" They started to walk side by side. Still, Hinata hadn't looked at him once.

"It went well."

"Good... Why don't you come up to my office?"

Her eyes fell on him then, but upon a pang of pain to her chest, she looked away. "O-Okay."

Naruto lead his ex girlfriend up to his office, where he sat down, and she faced him opposite of the desk. He let out a long, exasperated sigh and furrowed his brows at her.

"Have you considered working with teammates again, or are you sticking with the solo missions?"

"Solo." Her voice was quiet, her eyes glued to her feet.

"Are you sure? You've done nothing but solo missions for the past two months. It's probably lone-"

"I'm fine." She cut him off abruptly, much so his surprise. "I like working alone... W-Why did you want me to come into your office, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, I wanted to offer you a special solo mission."

"Is that so?" Hinata could feel tears stinging her eyes, but she clenched her jaw tight and tried to stay strong. A part of her was hoping that Naruto would have wanted to talk about something a bit more personal than missions.

"While you were away, I received a message from the Mizukage asking me for some assistance. You see, one of their nin has strangely gone missing, and they're having issues finding him. The Mizukage seems to think that the help of a Hyuga could be beneficial, considering you do have the Byakugan..." Hinata finally met his eyes, intrigued by this offer. The Hokage sat up straight and continued. "I was going to ask Neji-san, however since you are looking for solo missions, I figured-"

"I'll take it." She cut him off yet again. Naruto simply nodded.

"Okay. Well then, stay here for tonight, then set off for Kirigakure in the morning."

"Sure."

"You can go, then."

Hinata bowed, before turning to leave, trying her absolute hardest to hold back the tears that wanted to flood from her eyes. She left the Hokage's office, only to bump directly into another body; and of course, just with her luck, that body would belong to Sakura Haruno. Hinata stared into the eyes of the woman who stole her love away for only a moment, before darting down the hallway, allowing those tears to be released.

* * *

Hinata spent the night at the bar with Kiba and Shino, reminiscing about the old days when they were only children at the academy. They were her best friends, and the only two men she felt she could really trust. She hadn't spent any time with them in a few weeks, so it made her happy to see them again. Well, as happy as a heart-broken person could get.

"So, you're off to the Mist in the morning, Hina-chan?" Kiba asked, taking a sip of his sake.

The kunoichi also took a sip of her drink, allowing the relief of being wasted to set in. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You've been going on a lot of solo missions lately... Why not get Naruto-sama to let us join you?" Shino suggested, though Hinata shook her head to this.

"Thanks, but I'd like to do it alone."

Kiba eyed his friend suspiciously. "Are you sure you're alright, Hina-chan? You haven't worked with us once since you and Naruto-sama broke up..."

Hinata's back jolted at his words, and her face flushed red. "I-I'm fine, Kiba-kun. I'm just dealing with things right now."

"I understand." Shino said. "Sometimes being alone for a while is beneficial, I spend a lot of time by myself."

"Yeah but you're a loner." Kiba chuckled, and the glare beneath Shino's sunglasses was almost obvious. The two friends began to bicker, while Hinata found herself zoning out in her thoughts once more. _Why did Kiba-kun have to mention Naruto-kun... _Shaking this from her mind, she took a few huge chugs of her sake, hoping that it would make her forget, even for only a little while longer.

* * *

When the sun came, Naruto went to see Hinata off. She didn't know why he did that, but he always did, and she hated it. She wished that he would just leave her alone completely, but it didn't seem like he was about to do that any time soon. She gave him an awkward wave goodbye, which he was eager to return. He even smiled at her, which always made her feel joyous, at the same time, it inflicted damage.

The journey to the Mist was long and boring, but Hinata was used to those kinds of trips. At least the weather was kind to her. After a few hours of travelling, she found her way to the Mizukage's office to discuss how she would be able to aid them in finding their missing-nin. According to the Mizukage, the ninja had not gone rogue; she feared that he had either been kidnapped, or murdered somewhere. Personal details on the shinobi had not yet been given, but Hinata could tell that whoever he was, he was important to the Mizukage. She seemed reluctant to give out much personal information.

Hinata was exhausted from the travelling, so the Mizukage told her to get settled in the hotel and relax for the rest of the day. They would reconcile in the morning to discuss things further. Hinata had no objections to this; she wanted nothing more than to relax in a nice hot bath after eating some delicious free food.

Yes, she was definitely going to enjoy this mission.

* * *

Hinata spent her day inside reading a book, then her evening having a few drinks and socializing at the bar. It was a nice place, she thought; friendly people, great service, with excellent food and drinks, for sure. She didn't want to get too drunk, so a little tipsy, she made her way back up to her hotel to set up a nice bubble bath. She dipped her nude body into the steaming water and let out a sigh of relief, feeling content.

After about twenty minutes of soaking, Hinata thought she felt a strange presence nearby. It was only for a brief moment, but it was strong enough to make the Hyuga bolt up in her bath with eyes wide open. _What was that? _

Feeling a little sketched out, she got out of the bath quietly and threw on a white robe provided by the hotel. Hinata decided that she would keep this robe when she left.

The chakra she had felt had been strong, and strangely familiar; but it was only there for such a split second, that she questioned whether she was tripping out or not. Regardless, Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area... All she could see was regular chakra coming from regular people, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

But still, the paranoia did not subside. With caution, she tip-toed out of the bathroom and sniffed the air. _Something isn't right here._

She could _feel _another presence in the room, though her trusted eyes told her otherwise. There was not even a fly; just Hinata. She deactivated her Byakugan and came to the conclusion that she was just crazy; after all, she trusted her eyes more than she trusted her brain. She was hallucinating because she was drunk; she was just paranoid. So flopped down on the bed, a bellow of air pushing up from underneath her as she did so.

That was when she heard the tiniest little cough.

"W-Who's there!?" The kunoichi fumbled to her feet in shock, once again activating the Byakugan. Her eyes saw _nothing, _but her intuition told her that she was definitely not alone. Her senses tingled; she could feel the faint presence of another human being. "Who's there?" She repeated herself. "I-If you don't s-show yourself n-now... I-I'll make you pay, I promise!" Throughout the silence, a taunting laughter could be heard. It was chilling; Hinata's heart nearly leapt through her throat and ran all the way back to the Leaf. "W-Who are you!?" Her voice was shaky, despite her vain struggle to sound like she was 'tough' and 'mean', exactly the opposite of what she was.

"Looks like I've been caught in the act then, eh?" An oddly familiar voice rang in her eyes; she knew it, but she couldn't pinpoint who it belonged to.

"S-Show yourself!"

Like a tidal wave crashing into the shore, the chakra she felt had now appeared, as if out of thin air. It knocked Hinata's senses so hard that she nearly fell. From beyond the closet, her eyes showed her the location of the man who now no longer bothered to hide himself. She gulped as the door slowly opened, though by that time, she had realized who the chakra belonged to.

She was just too awestruck to consider that truth.

But much to her dismay, the man himself met her eyes with a mischievous smirk that just _screamed _trouble. "I'll have to tell the Hokage that I failed my mission."

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**A/N: **Hoookay! Thanks for the reviews guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) if you did, and would like me to continue, please leave a **review **with your thoughts. All of your opinions count ;3


	3. The Man in the Closet

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

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_**chapter three; **__the man in the closet_

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Hinata's knees shook as she backed up into the wall, her trembling lip now bleeding underneath her teeth.

"Y-You..." She dared to utter. "H-How did you get in here?"

A sly smirk crossed the dark features of Sasuke Uchiha as he slid his hands into his Konoha branded pants. He was in full ANBU uniform, including the mask, which was worn lazily off to the side of his head. "The window." He said. "You left it unlocked." Each word he spoke sent a flutter through her chest.

"W-What are you doing here? What did you mean by saying you'll have to tell N-Naruto-kun you failed your mission? W-What mission?"

Leisurely, the Uchiha sat down on the bed, his eyes never leaving hers. "Does it really matter?"

"O-Of course it matters!" Hinata exclaimed. "Why the h-hell are you sneaking around in my hotel room?"

"Look, I was just following orders, alright? Naruto-baka is going to be awfully pissed off at me if finds out I was caught so easily." He sighed. "Sucks, too, I was getting paid so well for this mission. Didn't even last a day. I guess I'll just have to use my genjutsu... What a pain."

Hinata squinted her eyes in suspicion. "I'm not stupid, Uchiha-san." She words spoke confidence but her voice only spouted doubt. "I-I don't believe anything you're saying. Why would Naruto-kun send you on a mission to sneak into my hotel room? And what do you mean about your genjutsu?"

"Hn, you certainly like to ask questions." Sasuke's taunting expression was now apathetic; he bore his eyes into hers, studying her features and reading what she was feeling. It was easy, he thought; Hinata wasn't good at masking her emotions. He remembered that about her. "Relax, you don't have to be so freaked out. You're a kunoichi, aren't you? You shouldn't be so fearful."

Her face flushed. "W-Well! Yes, b-but, it's only human to be startled to find a strange man lurking around my hotel."

Sasuke laughed a little. "It's not like you don't know who I am."

"I haven't seen you in over three years, Sasuke-san, and even if you were Naruto-kun, I would be freaked out to discover you hiding in my closet."

"I suppose you make a valid point." His insidious expression was now worn again; Sasuke was a little different from how Hinata remembered him. He'd grown taller and wore a more defined appearance; he smirked devilishly, where before, Hinata couldn't even remember a single time she saw him do anything but frown. Overall, though, the Uchiha had not changed much. He still gave off the same daunting aura and still possessed the same black, emotionless orbs. After a few moments of silence, Sasuke spoke again. "You really want me to fill you in?"

"Y-Yes." She said with uncertainty.

"If you calm down, I'll tell you."

"I don't trust you."

"Naruto does."

He made a point. Reluctantly, Hinata relaxed her posture and took a deep breath. "Okay. There. I'm relaxed."

"Sit down."

She eyed him with unease as she sat as far away from him on the bed as possible. He geared himself around so he could face her. "Naruto sent me here to keep an eye on you, Hinata."

"W-Why?"

"Because he doesn't trust you."

Somewhere inside Hinata's chest, a boat sunk. "What do you mean..."

"Hn. I mean it how I say it. The dobe doesn't trust you; he thinks you've been up to something suspicious on all these solo missions."

"That doesn't make any sense. I don't believe you."

"Have it your way... But I'm telling you the truth. He told me that he doesn't trust you, and wanted me to spy on you; as well as that, he wanted me to make sure you are kept out of harms way."

"I can take care of myself..." Hinata muttered sadly, meeting the eyes of her stalker once again. _Can I really trust this man? _She mused. _Though I have known Sasuke-kun for years, I have never actually _known _him... But Naruto-kun always spoke so highly of him... _"So, if you are telling the truth... Then why did you let yourself get caught so easily?"

"Look, I've had a little to drink, I fucked up, okay?" He grew defensive. "I was supposed to look through your things to see if there was anything suspicious, but accidentally let go of the seal hiding my chakra."

"That also doesn't make sense... You blew your cover way too easily, and you told me your objective willingly... That just isn't something any ANBU would do, let alone you, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke's black irises swirled into red, revealing his almighty doujutsu; the Sharingan. Hinata knew not to look into them, for he had something up his sleeve, but for a moment, she was mesmerized. That was all the time Sasuke needed to trap her. "You can forget all of that, now." And she passed out.

* * *

Sasuke stumbled down the streets of Kirigakure, laughing a little to himself. _That was amusing. _He thought, also reminding himself that he fucked up and needed to be more careful. _I shouldn't drink on missions. _

Disregarding this previous thought, he took a swig from his flask. Sasuke had never been the most efficient at making decisions while drunk, because the alcohol influenced him to be even more apathetic than usual. Those who knew him well, would think that to be impossible.

He plopped down in the grass by the river and lay down, watching the stars light up the night sky. Any normal person would marvel at how brilliant they were, but Sasuke was indifferent. What was so special about stars, anyway? Nothing ever changed about them.

He lay there and lingered on his earlier encounter with the Hokage's ex girlfriend. Naruto told him what happened; he had cheated on her with Sakura, because he had always been in love with Sakura. Sasuke scoffed at this, though he made no comment. Sasuke was a shallow man; he saw no sense in cheating on a beautiful woman like Hinata, with one who is not so good-looking. He didn't understand love and affection; he didn't want to understand it.

He understood sex and he understood attraction and that was how he would keep it. Though, as he lay there in hammered thought, he mused about who he would restore his clan with.

* * *

A beam of sunlight shone against Hinata's skin, waking her from her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, she did not recognize her surroundings. Piece by piece, memories of the previous day came back to her; leaving the village, arriving at the Mist, drinking at the bar, having a bath...

Oh.

Right.

_Him._

_Wait, what?_

Though her vision was fragmented, Hinata could recall what happened after she got out of the bath. The man in her closet; Sasuke Uchiha. His mission; Naruto didn't trust her. And of course, when his dark pools swirled into a mixture of black and red, and Hinata got caught up in his trance. She couldn't help but smirk to herself, thinking that perhaps the infamous Sasuke Uchiha was not as badass as he thought he was.

His genjutsu didn't work on her.

Without a moment to spare, Hinata got up, put on her ANBU outfit and went to the Mizukage's office. Rather than running, she leisurely walked there, her mind still focused on the events of last night. The more she thought about it, the more it came back to her. _What a creep. _She thought. _There's no way Naruto-kun would sent Sasuke-kun to stalk me. There's no way. I don't believe a word that man says._

She came to a few conclusions; A:_ Sasuke is just a creepy pervert_, B: _Sasuke is trying to find dirt on Naruto, _or C: _Sasuke is actually telling the truth, and Naruto doesn't trust me._

Either way, she was thoroughly disturbed, and pissed off too. Hinata was not a woman to hold much anger, but seriously, _who the hell does he think he is sneaking around in my closet like that!?_

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**A/N:** Well, there you have it! Thank you for the lovely reviews :) I hope that you're still enjoying the direction of the story so far. Please leave another **review **and let me know what you think :)


	4. Games

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

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_**chapter four; **games_

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Hinata was alone.

Or, at least, it looked like she was alone.

She trudged through the muddy forest where the missing-nin had allegedly disappeared. With her Byakugan activated, Hinata searched the area for anything suspicious, though her mind kept wandering back to the Uchiha.

_Gotta focus on the mission. _She reminded herself. _I can deal with the Uchiha thing later. _But the kunoichi was having difficulty not thinking about him; she was paranoid, knowing that his eyes may have been watching her at any time. He was a clever bastard, and had learned a very powerful chakra seal, so as Hinata continued deeper into the forest, her paranoia only increased.

When she heard a twig snap, she twirled around with her fists ready. "Who's there?" She called out, but there was no answer. She listened to the silence, and a gust of wind rushed through the leaves above her. As that wind blew against her face, sending her long dark hair into a wild mess, a certain scent drifted into her nostrils, and that's when she knew. "I-I know you're out there!" She stammered, her confidence fading. She waited, but still no answer. "Just leave me alone, okay!?" And with that, she ran off.

* * *

From the tree he hid behind, Sasuke wore a shocked expression. _How did she know I was here? Does she remember me? _Now it was the Uchiha's turn to be feeling paranoid. Regardless, he silently stalked her for another few hours until she decided to return to the village. He noted how cautious she looked; every few moments, she would peer over her shoulder in suspicion.

A part of him was amused by this woman, and he pondered all the different ways he could fuck with her head. _So, she is the ex-Hyuga heiress, as well as the ex-girlfriend of that idiot... Interesting. _Sasuke's black irises followed her, observing her appearance more closely. She was of average height, with a slim, attractive figure. Her hair was long and black, but shone navy in the light. Fair skin, large eyes, and dainty wrists that looked perfectly grabbable ... Sasuke mused on how stupid his best friend was for giving up someone so attractive.

A sly smirk crossed the man's face underneath his ANBU mask. _Perhaps I could have just a _little _fun with this..._

Sasuke swooped down from a tree like an untame hawk and landed in front of the Hyuga, ultimately startling her out of her reverie. Hinata fell onto her butt, before looking up at Sasuke with terrified orbs. "Y-You..." She muttered.

"Remember me?" He taunted.

Hinata's petrified expression twisted into a glower. "Yes, I do."

"So, my genjutsu didn't work on you after all..." He shrugged. "I suppose I was too intoxicated to perform it properly. This could be a problem." He swiftly moved his mask off to the side of his head to reveal his face to the girl. He looked cold and daunting despite the amused grin he wore. Hinata realized that he was activating his Sharingan, and in turn, activated her Byakugan.

"I will not let you cast your genjutsu on me." She harshly whispered, standing to her feet. With the Byakugan activated, she was confident that she would be able to see through anything Sasuke threw at her.

"Is that so?" Sasuke's voice was bitter and mocking, making Hinata's blood boil. The man was irritating; she recalled how much trouble Naruto had gone through to get him back, and all the havoc he'd caused the village. If Naruto hadn't been elected Hokage, Hinata was sure that Sasuke would never have been allowed back in the village.

Hinata went into a gentle fist formation, ready to strike if needed. She observed how violently his chakra flowed through his body; he frightened her, and she was well aware that if they were to actually fight, she would lose. However, she was not a kunoichi to stand down. She learned that from Naruto.

"Do you intend on fighting me?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think Naruto would be too happy about that."

"I don't think he would be happy about you trying to cast genjutsu on me either, or stalking me!"

"I told you, I was _sent _here. What do you think I could possibly gain from randomly following you?"

"I-I don't know. But even though you once again wear the mark of the Leaf, I don't trust you... I want you to stay away from me."

"Hn." He scoffed. "Stupid woman. Fine then, I'll play. No matter what, I'm going to erase that memory of yours." Sasuke's chakra intensified, and although Hinata was completely anxious, she tried to look brave. The thought of Naruto fed her will power.

The Uchiha disappeared before her eyes; Hinata caught him behind her and swirled around, catching his fist with her palm. He was too close to her. She jumped back, before targeting one of his chakra points; of course, he dodged it. This vicious cycle continued for well over ten minutes, in which neither of the Konoha ninja landed a single hit on the other. They pulled apart and locked eyes, panting from the exertion.

"You're fast." Sasuke commented. "But I'm faster." He didn't have much experience battling the Hyuga clan, but he knew well enough about the doujutsu to know that there was such a thing as a blind spot. On a whim, he guessed where it may be, and was able to strike her in the back of the head. Her thin body skid against the dirt, but she was quick to her feet. "Strike one." He smiled.

Infuriated, Hinata ran at him. He dodged her first strike, but swiftly, she twirled her body in an unexpected direction, and hit one of the Uchiha's chakra points with all her might. This was enough to send him crashing into a tree, though he appeared completely unharmed. The back of Hinata's skull still ached from the punch Sasuke had made.

"Impressive, so you are just as strong as you are beautiful." He grinned slyly. Hinata's face flushed red, though she wasn't sure whether he meant that as a compliment, or an insult. Regardless, she ignored him and attempted to strike again, but he was dodging her every move. "Are you thinking of Naruto when you attack me like that?" The Uchiha beckoned as he dodged her fists. "Is he the one who fuels your power?" A mocking laugh was heard. "It's ironic, really, considering he is paying me to stalk you."

"S-Shut up!" Hinata yelled, squinting her eyes as she swung to make her strongest hit, but ended up punching the air. Sasuke appeared behind her, and wrapped his arm around her neck.

"You may have a strong punch, but your spirit is weak. Such an idle comment shouldn't have let your guard down." His voice was musky in her ear, and she shuddered with disgust at how close he held her.

"Let go of me." She gritted her teeth.

Smirking deviously, he complied, and pushed her onto the ground. "Enough." He said, meeting her white eyes with his red ones. Hinata stared back into them, but did not deactivate her Byakugan. "Forget all about seeing me." Her eyes fluttered shut and she fell on her back, losing conciousness. Sasuke smirked. "Well, that was fun. Perhaps I will play with you another time."

With that, he put his mask back on and headed towards the village, incognizant that Hinata was merely playing dead.

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**A/N: **Thank you all so much for the reviews! I am glad you're enjoying the story. :) I will be posting another update soon.

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Ignorance

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

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_**chapter five; **ignorance_

* * *

Once the Uchiha was long gone, Hinata got up with a scoff, brushing the dirt off her pants. "What an idiot." She muttered with a laugh, satisfied to have successfully tricked him. Sasuke didn't realize that the Hyuga were not easily tricked by genjutsu, particularly Hinata, who had encountered far worse than some little memory erasing tactic. Granted, that did not make her invincible.

Hinata pondered what she would do about this situation. She wasn't able to return to the village to speak to Naruto, as this mission was important to her. But she certainly wasn't going to stand around while Sasuke Uchiha stalked her. Her heart was still racing from her encounter with the man; his chakra was unbelievably powerful. It was evident that he was only playing games with her, because with skills up to par with Naruto, he would have been able to easily strike her in a second.

Yet he let her avoid his attacks so fluidly...

Disregarding this, she returned to the village and found her way to the Mizukage's office. She was regretful to tell the Mizukage that she hadn't found anything suspicious in the forest where the missing-nin was last seen. Hinata felt a little bad about herself; she was supposed to be an expert tracker, yet she was unsure if she would be able to help the Mist out in this situation. She knew nothing about the man she was tracking, and even those who did know him, had not even a clue where he might have gone to. The Mizukage informed Hinata that the next day, she would assemble a team to join her, and they would travel to the next country over.

And so, the kunoichi had yet another night to spend in the Mist.

* * *

That evening, Hinata spent her time lost in a book. She sat in a comfortable chair by the window, which she intentionally left open. The moon was full and bright in the sky, when a gust of wind travelled his scent to her nose. She sighed and slammed her book closed, putting it on the table.

"I know you're out there."

She heard a rustling. "Damn it!" He exclaimed, taking no time to hesitate entering the room. This time, Hinata was not surprised to see him. He looked a little funny, she thought, with his face all scrunched up in irritation. "Why do you remember?"

"I have experienced far worse genjutsu than that, my eyes can see through it."

As frustrated as Sasuke was, he couldn't help but be impressed. "I see, I suppose that was one of my weakest tactics."

"If you try to trap me in your genjutsu again, I will tell Naruto-kun and you certainly won't be paid."

"You're already going to go crying to him as soon as you get to the Leaf."

"I'm sure we could compromise something."

Sasuke's eyes flickered, making the Hyuga feel uncomfortable. She tried to keep her cool around him, but it was hard; his very presence was foreign and intimidating to her. "Like what?"

"If you just leave me alone, then I won't tell him I found out. You'll get paid, and I'll be able to focus on my mission... Knowing that you are following me is creepy and very distracting."

Sasuke's face fell. _She thinks I'm creepy? _He pondered her proposition for a moment; there was no way that Hinata wouldn't tell Naruto, he just _knew _she would, no matter what. However, if he didn't agree to her terms, then he would never be able to catch her off guard. This woman was turning out to be more troublesome than anticipated.

"Okay, fine then. I'll stop following you."

"Okay, good." A thick silence filled the air as the two ninja stared into each others eyes. Hinata blushed and looked away awkwardly. "S-So uh yeah."

"Yes."

"Umm... You can go now, Sasuke-san."

The man stood there for another few moments, lost in thought as he observed her face. "Oh, right. Alright then." Yet he still stood there. Hinata's face flushed as she waited for one of the most awkward moments of her life to pass. She could not understand why Sasuke Uchiha was still standing in her hotel room.

Sasuke himself wasn't thinking much. He was just standing there. He felt like he had something else to say, but he couldn't quite remember what it was. He scratched his head and averted her strange, lavender orbs. Without saying another word, he disappeared out of the room, feeling somehow embarrassed about his strange behavior.

_What was that? _He thought, jumping over buildings. Sasuke didn't feel embarrassment; that feeling wasn't in his emotional vocabulary. Yet for whatever twisted reason, the awkward tension in the air, and the way Hinata's anticipating eyes fell on him, made him feel silly.

"Hn. What a nuisance."

* * *

The strong scent of algae and sea salt filled Hinata's nostrils, a morning sea breeze flowing through her hair. She smiled to herself as she stared over the vast waters.

Hinata's new team consisted of herself, three men, and two women, all of whom were very kind to her. Apparently, they were some of the Mist's strongest and most reliable ninja. Hinata trusted what the Mizukage had to say, so she felt safe as she travelled across the water with these strangers.

_"This is turning out to be quite the trip." _The kunoichi wrote in a notebook. _"Though I still think of you often, the mission is helping me keep my mind off things. This mission feels almost like a vacation for me, but of course, I'm still taking it very seriously. I'm going to try my absolute hardest to help the Mizukage bring her ninja home. I can tell that whoever he is, he means a lot to her. His name is Aki Daichi; he is around 5'9 with short brown hair and blue eyes. That is all I know about him. I can't help but be curious on who he _actually _is, but my mission is not to ask questions. I'm simply supposed to find the man and bring him back home. Perhaps if I can do that, I'll get some answers. _

_Oh, and the Sasuke Uchiha thing... I think I dealt with that. If the bastard was still following me, I would definitely know it. There is no place for him to hide on this boat... I hope." _As Hinata scribed these words, she cautiously took a peek around. The boat was massive, with a door that went down into the lower corridors where the beds were. Sasuke couldn't possibly hide down there... Could he? With a laugh, she shook her head. _Absolutely not. _

_"I wonder if you really are paying him to follow me... What purpose would that serve? What could I possibly be doing that you don't trust?... Anyway, I should be arriving in the Wave country within the next hour... I'll write more soon." _She closed the journal and slid it into her bag sadly. Looking over to the horizon, she saw an island was coming into view, and managed to smile slightly.

Sasuke almost smiled too, from the crack in the floor he could see her through, thinking _i__gnorance is bliss._

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys, I'm really sorry I'm late with this chapter! Just been super busy lately, and I wanted to make sure that I had this chapter exactly the way I wanted it. Thank you so much for all of the kind reviews! I really didn't expect so much positive feedback, it makes me very happy :') I'm glad you're liking the story so far.

I'll be updating very soon, might even get the next chapter up tonight if all goes well.

**Please review!**


	6. Grown Up

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter six; **grown up_

* * *

When the boat finally came to a halt, Sasuke questioned whether or not he could hold down his vomit any longer.

Being cramped in a closet on a moving ship for hours wasn't exactly affecting his gut in a positive way, but the shinobi had managed to keep himself in check... Sort of. He heard bodies leaving the ship, and knew that they had finally arrived. He smirked to himself; Hinata would never expect him to have been able to follow her that far.

The Uchiha silently stalked the group of ninja for several hours. He watched as they questioned townsfolk, had lunch, and explored the area. As Sasuke expected, they found nothing on the missing-nin. It was foolish, he thought, that the Mizukage would have them go to such extreme lengths to aimlessly look for this man. He was probably dead, or somewhere completely random that no one would ever guess. Would they really travel from country to country for this?

An awful realization dawned upon Sasuke that if that were the case, it would mean he would also be joining them. He had to make sure that the woman didn't get killed or seriously injured, or else Naruto would _flip, _and the Uchiha would probably never get paid to go on a mission again.

With a small sigh, he continued to follow them through the forest, never leaving the safety of the trees. Sasuke stopped paying much attention and found himself lost in his thoughts, idly stalking the group and listening in on their conversations. They didn't speak much or of anything interesting; Hinata was especially quiet. It was around evening time, when something snapped Sasuke out of his reverie.

"W-Who are you!?" The Hyuga's voice chimed. The Uchiha noticed that there were three shinobi who had stopped the group of six.

"Hand over all of your belongings, and we _might _only kill a few of you." One man smirked slyly. Hinata activated her byakugan and put herself into a fighting stance.

"You shouldn't try to fight us." Another man said, and on cue, the shinobi attacked. Sasuke watched as one of the men from the Mist's team fell, along with one of the women. Hinata screamed, and without a second thought, began to attack furiously. She found herself one on one with a tall, intimidating looking man with old scars all over his body. Hinata could tell that he had been around the block more than once, and he was considerably older than her.

Sasuke sat idle in the tree and watched as Hinata's body swirled swiftly around the man's heavy attacks. She punted him with her Hyuga trademark gentle fist technique, and managed to avoid all hits. Until the man jumped away from her and preformed a quick hand seal, crumbling the earth beneath her feat. Hinata's expression showed panic, and as she quickly ran away, the tremors on the earth followed her. _Earth style. _Sasuke thought curiously._ Some sort of earthquake technique, I presume... Wonder how the girl will handle this._

Hinata ran further and further away from her group, who were busy battling the other two men. Sasuke thought that the shinobi from the Mist were either weak, or these rogue ninja were just very powerful. He had to jump from tree to tree to keep up with Hinata's quick feet.

Eventually, the crumbling stopped, and an exhausted Hyuga met the eyes of her attacker, who had been calmly following her.

"You may be quick on your toes, but your stamina isn't very high." The man grinned, making her stomach churn. Hinata was forced to deactivate her Byakugan, as her eyes were weakening.

"W-What do you what?" The kunoichi practically screamed. "Leave us alone! We don't have anything valuable for you to take!"

"It doesn't matter, we're going to kill you all anyway, and take whatever you have." Without warning, the ground beneath Hinata once again began to shift. This time, it abruptly shot upwards and sent her thin body flailing into the air. Mid-air she activated her dojutsu and made a safe landing on her feet. She took a moment to observe this man's chakra; it was impressive, she had to admit.

"I won't let you kill anyone else." Hinata spoke sternly and with fury. Her fists began to glow blue, the aura taking the shape of two lions faces floating around her hands. She lunged at the man and he dodged her, but anticipating this, she twirled around and hit him directly in the back with her _Gentle Step Lion Twin Fist_ technique. His body went fumbling forward, but only slightly. _This man's body feels like a brick! _Hinata thought, panting.

"Nice try, but you're too weak to defeat me." He appeared behind her and punched her right in the side. When Sasuke heard the scream she made, he knew it was time for him to step in. Hinata was trembling on the ground as the man slowly walked up to her with a sadistic look on his face. He began to perform a hand seal, when suddenly, the Uchiha appeared before him. Within seconds, the man was convulsing on the ground.

"Y-You!" Hinata bolted to her feet. "Are you serious? How did you get here?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to her. "You honestly didn't think I'd be able to get here?"

In all honesty, Hinata wasn't very surprised, but at that moment she couldn't bother to care. Ignoring him, the kunoichi walked beside Sasuke and stared down at the trembling body of the man. "What did you do? How did you get him down so easily?"

"I trapped him in my genjutsu, I doubt he will be recovering any time soon." Sasuke stated calmly, as if it were normal to look someone in the eye and give them a seizure.

"You didn't have to step in..."

"Bullshit, you looked terrified." He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, and met her eyes. "I could have just saved your life."

Hinata could feel a bubble of anger pop inside her as she took offence to this statement. "I-I'm not weak. I've trained very hard since you and I went to school together."

"You are skilled, I will admit that." A mocking grin almost tugged at his lips. "But this is no ordinary Shinobi, you can tell that by reading his chakra, I'm sure."

"I-I know that. B-But I had everything under control." Her voice lacked the confidence her words portrayed.

Sasuke laughed smugly, and muttered under his breath; "Hn. You really have changed since the old days."

"W-What did you say?" The confused girl dared to ask, but he brushed her off.

"Forget it. Aren't you forgetting something?"

"I haven't forgotten." She spat, darting away from the ANBU. He took no time to trail after her. When they arrived at the clearing, blood was everywhere. Hinata gasped upon seeing the bodies.

Both of the women had been killed as well as one man. The other two men, and the attackers, were no longer there.

"W-Where are the others?" Hinata's voice was shaky. "How could this happen?"

"Looks like the Mizukage arranged you to be with a group of weaklings. Hn, how path-"

_Smack._

The Hyuga's cold hand collided _hard _with his cheek. Utterly shocked, Sasuke mirrored her flustered expression. "Why the hell would you slap me?"

"Have some respect for the dead." She spat."Not everybody can kill people simply by looking at them."

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. "Whatever."

Ignoring him, Hinata continued to follow the path in search of her other teammates. Sasuke idly walked behind her, holding his stinging cheek. _Bitch. _He thought, remembing the Hinata Hyuga he'd once known back in Konoha; the painfully quiet, shy girl who couldn't even speak let alone slap someone in the face. He laughed a little to himself, thinking that everyone has to grow up at some point.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all for the lovely reviews as always :)! The support definitely encourages me to keep this going.

Some of you have commented that Sasuke and Hinata can feel out of character at times; I am actually doing that on purpose :P I'm trying to show how they both have changed (mainly Hinata), since in this story, three years have passed since the war. I hope that I am doing an okay job of portraying that, because I don't mean to write them super out of character. Just a little different. (:

Hope you liked this chapter, please leave a **review **and let me know what you think!


	7. Bodyguard

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

**_chapter seven; _**_bodyguard_

* * *

Hinata's blood was boiling as she walked ahead of the Uchiha. She hadn't felt so angry in a very long time; she couldn't believe that she actually _slapped _him... But in all fairness, he deserved it. _How could Naruto-kun consider this man his best friend? He's a totally disrespectful. _Clearing her thoughts of him, she focused on her current mission; finding her teammates. She didn't like that Sasuke was still following her, but she would deal with that later. She had more important matters to attend to.

They found one of the bodies dead along the river; thankfully, it did not belong to either of Hinata's lost teammates. The attacker was mangled, and so Sasuke kicked his body in the river. Hinata simply scoffed at this vulgar action and kept moving.

They stumbled upon the second body closer to the edge of the forest. It was the other attacker. Warm relief washed over Hinata knowing that two of her teammates were still alive. But where were they now? As fast as her feet would take her, she bolted out of the forest and saw that she was at the port where they arrived.

On the horizon of the water where the sun was currently setting, she could see the ship sailing away.

"W-Wha?" She blundered, dumbfounded.

"Hn. Looks like you got ditched." Sasuke muttered from behind her.

"I-I got... Ditched." Staring in awe at the sight of the boat leaving, she plopped into the grass. "T-They actually left me here."

Sasuke wanted to laugh, but he didn't. Instead, he sat down beside her. "So what will you do now?"

"I don't know... Sasuke-san, why are you still here?"

"Orders are orders. Money is money." He spoke nonchalantly, laying back in the grass. He put his hand to his cheek, still awestruck that a woman slapped him.

"Yes, but..."

"You would have figured it out eventually even if you hadn't discovered me that night I was drunk. My orders were not only to spy on you, but to protect you, as well. Naruto-baka presumed that if it were necessary for me to protect you, that you would brush me being there off as a coincidence. I, on the other hand, was going to rely on genjutsu... But forget about that for now."

"I... See." _Naruto-kun wanted Sasuke-kun to protect me... _Hinata wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. "Well all that aside, I have to get back to the Mist. I thought we had an agreement that you wouldn't follow me anymore."

"I would love to stop following you and go get drunk but if anything does happen to you, I won't get paid. So, that is my reasoning for following you. Money. I'm tired of hiding that fact. Besides, think about what might have happened to you had I not been there today." He made a point. "Just consider me your bodyguard... The idiot should have just been honest with you from the beginning."

She let out a heavy sigh of defeat, accepting that she wasn't going to be getting rid of this guy any time soon. _And I really wanted to spend some time to myself... _

Sasuke looked up at her through one open eye, observing the profile of her face. Her bottom lip trembled, her pale cheeks flushed and her eyes appeared watery. Though he had only a few interactions with her, he found the way she acted toward him strange. It was like she genuinely didn't want anything to do with him, behaviour that Sasuke wasn't used to receiving from women.

It kind of annoyed him, actually.

He sat up straight and noticed that Hinata's head was now burried in her knees. Her shoulders trembled, and tiny sobs could be heard. She was trying so hard not to break down and look even weaker in front of this man she hardly knew, but mentally, she was snapping... Not that she truly valued Sasuke's opinion on her anyway. She mourned for the lives of those lost in the struggle, and she mourned about being left behind. She cried because Naruto abandoned her and thought she was so weak to hire Sasuke Uchiha to protect her.

At that moment, as her tears picked up, she felt like everything she'd worked and trained so hard for crumbled right there. Naruto always praised how strong she'd become throughout the years, and how much he admired the way she'd grown up. Hinata took those words to heart, and used them as courage during battle; but now, she couldn't help but think of those words as mostly bullshit.

"Stop crying." Sasuke's voice pulled Hinata from her thoughts. She looked up at him; he was now standing, looking down at her orbs of watery white glass with his matte onyx stare. Hinata sniffled a few more times and rubbed her face with her sleeve, before standing up.

_I'm fine now,_ she thought, following behind the Uchiha as he lead the way. _There's no sense left in crying. _Despite telling herself this, the heavy feeling in her chest never went away. _Ugh, I really need a drink..._

* * *

"What do you mean there are no more boats leaving?" An irritated Uchiha demanded of the man running the port.

"I-I'm s-sorry, sir, but boats stop running at seven pm." The man trembled. When Hinata saw Sasuke begin to activate his sharingan, she touched his arm.

"Sasuke-san, it's fine. Let's just go find a hotel." She looked to the other man. "I'm sorry, sir. Have a good evening." Hinata tugged Sasuke away until he shook her hand off him and sent her a death glare.

"I could have easily used my genjutsu on him to give us a boat."

"It's not that big of a deal, we can leave first thing in the morning. You shouldn't use your genjutsu so carelessly."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?" He stopped walking, and she turned to meet his stare."Just because I've been hired to watch you, does _not _mean I'm going to take orders from you."

Hinata's pale face was instantly flushed red. "U-Um, w-what, I didn't..." His black irises dug into her, making her feel even more intimidated. "I-I didn't mean it like that. I was just saying..."

"Hn, whatever." The Uchiha twirled around and continued walking toward the town. Hinata trailed slightly behind him. She wanted nothing more than to run away from this crazy man, but she knew he would find her, and at least if she stuck with him she wouldn't feel like she was being _completely _stalked...

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys, sorry for the super short chapter. The next one will be out within the next two days to make up for this chapters short-boringness. But yes, thank you all for the reviews! I know this chapter was a lil sucky but let me know what you think ;)

**Please review!**


	8. Moving Mountains

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter eight; **moving mountains_

* * *

Once they checked into the hotel, Hinata insisted that they share separate rooms. Sasuke was reluctant but knew that she would only cause a fuss if he didn't agree.

He would lurk to make sure she didn't disappear later, anyway.

As per usual, Hinata found herself alone at the bar, pounding back more drinks than one would think she could handle. She didn't speak to the bar tender for well over an hour as she pondered her thoughts; _How could Naruto-kun put so little faith in me? Should I just give up on this mission and go home? Spending time with his psychotic best friend wasn't exactly on my agenda..._

As if on cue, a body took the empty bar seat beside the kunoichi. Without lifting her eyes from her reflection in the glass, she already knew who it was.

"Drinking without me?"

She took a swig. "It's not like we're friends..." She muttered under her breath.

He ignored her and called for the bartender. "Four shots of whiskey."

Hinata looked at him then, noticing his attire. He wore a simple black shirt with his clan symbol on the back; it was strange to see him out of uniform, looking _almost _like a normal person.

"Why order four?"

"Well I'm going to take three, and you're going to take one." The Uchiha stated, as if she had no choice.

"N-No, thank you, I don't drink whiskey."

"Well, you are tonight."

_"I don't take orders from you." _She slurred, mocking his voice with a little drunken laugh. Sasuke simply scoffed at her, and welcomed the shot glasses the bartender put before him. He slid one in front of Hinata.

"Drink it."

"N-No."

"Just do it." He pounded back one and met her eyes.

"No."

"Yes." He slid it further in front of her, in which she shoved it back towards him.

"No."

"Hn, persistent woman." He took another one of his shots. "Why not? Just try it." His voice was as aggressive as ever. Certain aspects of Sasuke had changed, but that certainly hadn't.

"I like sake." She said simply, taking a sip.

"Just drink it."

The Hyuga slammed her glass on the table and met his eyes with annoyance. Had she not been drunk, she likely would have lacked this confidence. This was only one of many reasons why Hinata adored the poison. "No." She said firmly, as if her words were a rock, negligent that Sasuke was experienced in the art of moving mountains.

"Yes." His pure black eyes tore holes into her wall of stubbornness.

"You are awfully annoying." She muttered quietly, looking away from him as she slugged the shot into her mouth. A shudder of disgust trailed up her spine.

_Wait... Annoying? _Sasuke choked on his drink and started coughing profusely. Hinata sent him a twisted look.

"A-Are you okay?" She inquired awkwardly.

"S-Shut up." He stammered, catching his breath. "I'm fine." He cleared his throat and sat up straight. Ignoring her, he ordered a few more shots of whiskey.

"I'm not drinking any more of that." The Hyuga informed matter-of-factly. Sasuke looked away from her with his chin rested on his hand.

"I don't care." He pouted, before he took two shots consecutively. Hinata quivered just watching him. They sat in awkward silence for well over ten minutes before the Uchiha decided to speak again.

"I wouldn't have guessed you to be a drinker by looking at you." He stated.

"It's kind of a recent thing..." She mumbled, waving to the bartender for a refill. Sasuke looked to her with curiosity sparking his eyes. It had been a very long time since he'd found a person somewhat interesting, especially a woman, at that.

"Come outside." It annoyed her how everything he said sounded like a command.

"Why?" She queried.

"Just do it."

She turned away from him. "B-Being impolite doesn't make me want to follow you..."

Irritation crossed his brow. "This is just how I talk."

Much to his surprise, she giggled at this. "You are a weird person, Sasuke-san. Fine, I'll come outside with you."

"Hn." He grunted, leading the way. Sasuke stopped just outside the door and lit a cigarette. Hinata sent him a look of disgust, but chose to make no comment, rather she focused her attention on the sky.

"It looks like there's a storm coming." She commented, musing up at the swirling dark clouds overhead.

"Hn."

Hinata's voice grew shaky. "I can feel the humidity rising, too..."

He took a prolonged drag of his cigarette. "So?"

Blushing, she habitually started to poke her fingers together. "I-I'm actually afraid of storms..." She mumbled.

Sasuke laughed once. "You're a ninja yet you are afraid of the weather."

"Only in extreme cases!" She defended. "I-I can just sense that there is going to be a big one tonight..."

"Probably. These lands are prone to heavy storms."

These words certainly didn't ease Hinata's paranoia. She stood silent as Sasuke finished his cigarette, and wondered why he even asked her to join him if he wasn't going to talk. They went back inside and assumed their same spot at the bar.

Sasuke didn't hesitate to order more whiskey. He saw how red faced the Hyuga girl was getting and smirked to himself, finding some amusement in this. He slid a glass in front of her.

"Drink more."

"Uhm, no, I'm good..." She slurred, her drunkenness hitting her like a brick. Her vision was a little blurry, but she focused in on the glass in front of her. _Maybe just one more..._

Twenty minutes and two shots later, the kunoichi wasn't exactly feeling good. She could barely sit up straight on the stool; Sasuke noticed this and laughed.

"Drunk?"

"Mmm-da, yeah." She muttered, barely audible. "I don't feel that great..."

"Oh... Don't puke." Hinata fell to the side abruptly, and Sasuke caught her, thinking _shit, this girl is way too hammered. _"Maybe you should go back to your room." He suggested, awkwardly holding her by the shoulders.

"Mmm, y-yeah... Let's do that." The drunken Hyuga stumbled to her feet and nearly fell on her ass, once again being saved by the Uchiha.

"Great, you can't even walk." He grumbled, throwing her arm over his shoulder. "Come on." He tried to drag her, but she was dead weight, though still conscious. Irritated, he flung her body over his shoulder. Hinata felt her stomach churn from the movement.

"H-Hey, don't throw me around like that." She garbled. "I-I don't f-feel so good..."

"I swear if you puke on me..."

She mumbled some gibberish that Sasuke ignored as he took her up to her room. Once inside, he carelessly threw her on the bed, as a loud boom of thunder was heard simultaneously. And suddenly, Hinata was totally awake again. Her eyes flew open and she scattered to sit against the bed frame.

"W-Whoa." She gaped, then noticed how pissed off Sasuke looked. "H-Hey, you're the one who gave me the whiskey. I told you, I don't drink whiskey."

He cocked an eyebrow mockingly. "Apparently you can't handle it."

"W-Whatever..." She looked away from him, blushing. "T-Thanks for carrying me to my room."

"Hn." His eyes trailed across her appearance, taking in her blushing cheeks, and the way her clothing fit on her natural curves. _Ugh, she's attractive, _he thought, looking away to prevent any further bad thoughts. He took a seat on the edge of the bed with his back facing her. "I can leave, if you want."

The thunder roared outside and a flash of lightening brightened the dim room for only a moment. Shivers were sent up Hinata's spine. "Um, that's okay. You can stay. I mean, if you want. I kinda... Don't like storms..."

Sasuke laughed. "I thought you didn't like being around me."

"I-I don't!" She retorted quickly. "T-Though I have to admit I like storms much less..."

"Whatever you say, drunky." He fell back onto the bed.

"I'm not that drunk." She hiccupped. "Well I am, but, you are too."

He looked back at her. "Yeah, so what?"

"Just saying..." She mumbled, staring at his face. Sasuke had always been praised as incredibly good-looking but Hinata never really paid attention; her eyes were only for Naruto, after all. But as she sat there, looking at him laying upside down on the bed, she studied his features more closely than ever before. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking _he's actually... Kind of... Cute..._

Snapping herself out of this trance, her eyes darted away from him, looking at anything that _wasn't _him. _Did I actually just think that? _She pondered, fiddling with her fingers. _I'm way too drunk... _Another loud boom of thunder was heard, causing her to nearly jump right out of her skin. Oddly enough, it startled the Uchiha, too. He sat up straight, as Hinata toppled to her side and curled into a ball, hiding her face in her hands. The wind outside was roaring loudly, and flashes of lightening and thunder continued to startle the girl. Sasuke simply sat there wearing an apathetic expression, although he did catch himself staring at her more than once.

After sitting in silence for several minutes, Sasuke stood up. "Well... I'll let you sleep then." He said. When she didn't respond, he got closer to her, moved one of her hands and saw that she was already sound asleep, ignorant to why he smiled at this.

* * *

**A/N:** Sooo yeah! Thanks for reviewing :P there will definitely be more than one time where these two get drunk together; I find the use of alcohol provides some comic relief :P though they were both pretty awkward with each other in this despite being drunk. But yeah I hope you like it! Please leave a **review **and let me know how you feel about it!


	9. Second Guesses

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter nine; **second guesses_

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke waited hours for Hinata to come knocking on his door before he decided to make the first move. The girl slowly opened the door, revealing her haggard appearance; tattered hair, bags under her eyes, an expression that looked like death itself...

Even the Uchiha was frightened, only for a moment.

"Uhh, you... Ready?" He inquired hesitantly, putting his hand on the door and opening it further. Hinata ignored him and turned around, stumbling back over to the bed, which she fell on. "I'll take that as a no."

"I feel like shit. I'm never drinking with you again." Her muffled voice muttered from beneath a pillow.

"I won't try to get you to drink whiskey again."

Hinata threw the pillow off her face and met his eyes, wearing an expression that wore pure apathy. "Anyway, I just woke up... So I'm going to need another hour before we can leave."

"You do realize it's noon, right?"

Hinata's face fell. "W-Wha- N-Noon!? Really?" A taunting smirk tugged at Sasuke's lips as the girl began to frantically run around the room, grabbing all of her belongings and throwing them into her bag. She ran into the bathroom, and emerged only moments later running a brush through her navy hair. Without another word, Hinata threw everything else into her bag and zipped it up, throwing it over her shoulder as she met the Uchiha's gaze.

"Let's go."

* * *

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at Sasuke on the way back into the Mist. He was a little seasick, not to mention hungover, and actually vomited once or twice. The Hyuga thought it was hilarious to see the infamous Uchiha puke his brains out. Needless to say, he sent her more than a few death glares.

After a few hours they got back to the village. Sasuke dipped off somewhere, while Hinata went in to have a meeting with a very distressed Mizukage.

"I cannot believe something like this could happen." Mei told Hinata, who stood at attention in front of her desk. The Mizukage hid her face shamefully. "I am so sorry, Hinata-chan. You could have been killed also. I'm relieved to see that you're okay."

"Don't apologize, Mizukage-sama. You can't blame yourself, we couldn't have predicted being attacked by those ninja." Hinata reassured.

"I just thought that if something like this were to happen, everyone would be able to defend themselves successfully. Yet only Taki-kun and Basho-kun returned alive, along with yourself." She let out a depressed sigh. "They told me that you were dead; I guess they didn't think to check the evidence. They abandoned you, Hinata-chan, and for that, I apologize."

"R-Really, you shouldn't be apologizing. It isn't your fault." Hinata's face flushed from the awkwardness of having the Mizukage apologize to her personally. She had never seen the woman so distraught; even before, when she was giving the orders, she did not look as upset as she did in that moment. After a few more seconds of uneasy silence, the Mizukage spoke again.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to postpone this mission." She looked as if she were about to cry. "The man that I had you chase after wasn't just any ordinary shinobi, to me, anyway. He was my lover. I cannot fathom how selfish I was to endanger the lives of not only my own village but the Hokage's, too, just for my own desires. You can go now, Hinata-chan. Return to your village."

"B-But, Mizukage-sama-"

"Just go, please." The woman hid her face behind her dainty hand. Hinata reluctantly nodded.

"If you ever need me again... You'll know where to find me. Good luck, Mizukage-sama."

* * *

As Hinata solemnly left the Mist, she felt a strong aura of depression radiating off the village.

It made sense why the Mizukage assembled a whole team to locate one man; of course he was her lover. He was an important role in the village, and he was gone. Hinata took a moment to imagine how she might have felt if Naruto had suddenly gone rogue on the whole village, instead of just her.

She recalled how Sakura must have felt when Sasuke decided to go rogue, and how Naruto and Kakashi must have felt too.

_Speaking of Sasuke... _Hinata mused, looking cautiously behind her shoulder. _Where is that bastard? Surely he's lurking around here somewhere. _But he didn't emerge for another hour of walking through the forest. Hinata was almost convinced that he wasn't going to show; then again, she knew better than that.

He decided to show his face as she was entering a field.

"Why are you going so slow?" His taunting voice called to her, startling her from her thoughts. She swirled around and met his eyes; she wasn't surprised. She had anticipated him.

"I'm in no rush to get back to the Leaf."

Sasuke caught up to her. "Yeah, me neither." The two began to walk side by side, as if they were actually comrades. "Ever consider living somewhere else?"

"W-What? N-No way! I would never abandon the village."

The man sighed. "I hate how it is viewed like that. If you simply move somewhere else, it's considered abandoning the village. Forbidden bullshit."

"Well... Regardless of that, I like Konoha. It is my home, even if I'm no longer with Naruto-kun. Besides, I don't know what you're complaining about. You don't live in the village anyway."

"True. I never show my face there. I heard that some people have actually started to believe me to be some sort of myth."

Hinata giggled at this. "That's actually true."

Sasuke let out a single laugh. "Hn. How ridiculous."

"Well you are certainly odd... You never show your face. You work for the village yet you don't live there..." She trailed off, playing with a strand of her hair. "Speaking of which, where _do _you live?"

The Uchiha laughed once more. "Don't worry about it."

Hinata sent him an irked look, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know why you have to be so mysterious." She muttered.

"Hn. Maybe I'll show you sometime." The Hyuga's face instantly flushed as she looked away. "What's wrong?" He asked. "God, I didn't mean it like that."

Her face somehow turned even more red. "I-I, um, I d-didn't think you did."

"Good."

_Cue awkwardness. _Hinata thought. The two walked in silence for several minutes, in which Hinata tried to come up with a billion different things to say and couldn't decide on one. Thankfully, Sasuke broke the silence.

"So, what will you do now? Another solo mission?"

"Yes, I suppose... Will you be _joining _me again?" Her tone was slightly sarcastic; Sasuke caught on.

"That's all up to Naruto."

"Hm."

"I must say, I had a bit of fun on this mission. It's been a while."

She couldn't help but frown at this out of character statement. "You did?"

"Somewhat. Drinking with you was entertaining."

"Well, I still feel like crap" She chuckled. "The whiskey thing isn't happening again."

Sasuke met her eyes. "But will the drinking?"

Hinata instinctively stopped in her tracks and stared at him for a moment, a dumbfounded. _Is Sasuke Uchiha proposing that he'd like to... Hangout? _And there was that blush again. "U-Um, w-well, sure, maybe, if you want I mean."

There was a long pause. "I wouldn't mind that." He began walking again. Hinata trailed behind him, still bewildered.

Eventually, the two of them decided to start running to get the trip over with. Hinata was thankful for that, because it prevented her from having any more awkward conversations with the Uchiha. The two dashed from branch to branch at top speed; Sasuke was impressed at how fast she could make her feet move, though it was obvious that she was straining herself to catch up.

As he kept moving, he found himself thinking about the girl he was running alongside. Skillful, strong-willed, attractive; she even had a sense of humour, and Naruto gave all that up for Sakura? Sasuke was confused, then again he was unfamiliar with _those _kinds of relationships.

Another strange thought echoed in his mind; _I actually don't mind her company._

* * *

It wasn't until late in the night that they arrived at their destination. Sasuke, of course, disappeared into the night so he could make it to the Hokage's office unseen. Hinata decided she would walk steadily, and enjoy what was left of her evening. It occurred to her then that she hadn't thought about what she would say to Naruto when she saw him; in fact, since she'd started spending time with the Uchiha, Naruto had barely crossed her mind at all.

Now _that _was weird.

Shaking this off, she entered the familiar building, wondering if Sasuke would still be there or not. Sure enough, the bright room of the Hokage's office was empty other than her ex-lover. _Did Sasuke already tell him that I know? If he didn't, should I bring it up? _Her palms shook with anticipation. Naruto forced a small grin at her as she shut the door behind her.

"So, how was the mission?" He inquired. Hinata instantly noticed that he seemed nervous.

"It did not go so well..." She mumbled, averting his ocean-like gaze.

"What happened?"

"My team was attacked, a few of us killed. Mizukage-sama was so upset that she called the whole thing off and sent me home."

"I see."

"Yes."

Naruto clenched his teeth, recalling his previous encounter with his 'best friend'. _"About that girl you gave up; I think you made a pitiful mistake." _Sasuke spoke, boring those familiar irises into his. Naruto already felt guilty enough about cheating on Hinata; he didn't need Sasuke reminding him. He also noted how particularly strange it was for the Uchiha to say something like that about anyone, let alone a woman, which brought up further questions; _Did Sasuke show himself to her on this mission?_

_If so, did he pull anything with her?_

Naruto had gotten Sasuke to follow Hinata before a few times, but normally only on smaller missions. This one was the biggest, and Naruto of all people knew that Sasuke could be an idiot while drunk sometimes.

He was also a master in the art of seducing women just by looking at them.

This was one of the only situations the Hokage would probably ever feel nervous in. He did not do well under confrontation with Hinata.

_What if they slept together?_

The room was filled with an eery silence and Hinata began to wonder why she hadn't been dismissed yet. Naruto was sort of just sitting there, blankly staring at a wall. She noticed the way he was tapping his finger on the table and biting his lip.

"N-Naruto-kun." She chimed, snapping him from his reverie. "May I leave now? I'm tired."

"O-Oh, uh, yeah. You can go." He handed her an envelope containing her pay. He put extra money inside of it to help ease his guilty conscious; it wasn't very effective. He watched her back as she left the room, thinking _Is Sasuke right? _

* * *

**A/N:** I'M SORRY GUYS! I know I haven't updated in a while, so I apologize for that :( I just haven't had the time to finish this chapter, but I managed to squeeze this one out. I hope that you enjoy it, and I promise to update ASAP; Hopefully within the next few days.

Please leave a **review **and let me know what you thought about this chapter.


	10. Out of Sight, On the Mind

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

**_chapter ten; _**_out of sight, on the mind_

* * *

Hinata flicked on the light to her apartment as she entered the door, her backpack flung over one shoulder. She let out a heavy sigh as she took in the familiar sight of her bachelor apartment; a bed off to the corner, a small kitchen with a small table to match. She missed having a whole mansion to herself, then again, at least she was comfortable where she was. It felt like forever since she'd slept in her own bed.

As she dropped her bag on the ground and lazily stumbled to her bed, she noticed something was... Off.

A sudden sense of paranoia rushed through her veins. She could sense no presence yet she felt like she wasn't alone, much like when she had discovered the Uchiha hiding in her closet back at the hotel.

_...Wait a second._

She sighed and relaxed her body. "Sasuke?"

"Hey." His voice uttered from outside. She looked over and saw him casually leaning on her balcony beyond the screen door, wearing that forever apathetic expression.

"W-What are you doing here now? How did you get in my house?" She was freaked out, but at the same time, after everything that had happened the past few days, she wasn't surprised to see him lurking around yet again.

"You left your balcony door unlocked, idiot." He scoffed as he entered, closing the sliding door behind him.

"Why are you here? The mission is over, you don't need to follow me anymore. This is just plain weird."

"I thought we were drinking more?"

"W-What? W-When did I make those plans?" Hinata's face turned beet red as she recalled their conversation from earlier that day. Even still, she definitely did not agree to drink with him _that night._

"Remember earlier?" Sasuke helped himself to sitting on a chair at the table.

"I didn't mean tonight... I thought that was obvious."

"Well I'm bored and I'm in town, so drink with me now."

"N-No, I'm tired."

The man appeared irritated. "I want to now."

"Then drink by yourself." The Hyuga herself was now getting annoyed. Sasuke was being a pest.

"I don't want to."

"Then don't drink at all." The girl sat opposite of the small room on her bed.

"But I want to."

Over the years, Hinata had become a lot better at asserting herself. She wanted to tell Sasuke to get the fuck out of her house, but she couldn't do that; not while those eyes stared at her. "Not tonight. I'm too tired, and it's too late."

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest like an a displeased child. "Tomorrow night then."

"If I agree, will you please leave and let me sleep?"

"Yes."

Another exasperated sigh escaped her lips. "Okay, fine. Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow it is." And with that, the Uchiha had disappeared off the balcony as quickly as he came. She walked outside and stared in the distance, seeing that his figure was already out of sight, though not out of mind.

* * *

The next night came too quickly. Hinata spent the day normally; she slept in too late, went grocery shopping, and said hi to a few friends in town. Around seven o'clock, she returned home from her errands and made herself a quick meal before the inevitable arrived. She wasn't sure when, but she knew he was coming, and she had dreaded it all day.

She felt like she was disobeying some sort of rule by being associated with Sasuke, considering the only person left in town who actually was in contact with him was Naruto. Sasuke didn't speak to Sakura, Kakashi, no one.

But now he was speaking to her.

She allowed her forehead to slam against the table. _Why me?_

"Long day?"

Hinata jolted up in her seat and squealed a bit, swirling around to meet his eyes. "S-Stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked at her, letting himself in through the balcony. "Do you ever lock this thing?"

"Yes... But I knew you were coming, so I left it open."

"How considerate of you."

She rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone, before noting the bottle he was holding. "Are we not going to the bars?"

"What a stupid question." He scoffed. "If I show my face in town, people will come up to me."

She blushed a little. "Oh yeah..." _Great, so I'm drinking with him alone in my apartment._

As rude as ever, Sasuke helped himself to a seat. Hinata hesitantly sat back down. "I brought sake, no whiskey." He said, shoving it in front of her.

"Good, because I wouldn't have drunk the whiskey."

"Yeah, well I like you more when you're actually coherent."

She ignored his comment, though for unknown reasons it made her heart race. She went to the kitchen for a moment and returned with two glasses, in which Sasuke filled both cups instantly. "Why are you always so eager to drink?" She inquired, taking a sip.

"Because alcohol is one of the few pleasures I have left in this life."

"Oh." _Depressing... _Hinata pondered for a moment how Sasuke and Naruto could have ever even became friends, considering their polar opposite personalities. The Naruto she knew and loved was so happy and optimistic about life. This strange man was always so bitter and negative.

"You have to catch up with me." His voice ended her thoughts, and she looked at his already empty cup.

"I don't want to chug it..." She peeped.

"Just do it, you'll get drunk a lot faster."

Hinata couldn't help but eye the Uchiha with suspicion, but regardless, for whatever reason she gave in and chugged the rest of her cup. Sasuke instantly gave her a refill, and repeated the same process. Half an hour later, Hinata was already drunk past her comfort level. She did drink a lot on a regular basis, but she wasn't much of a binge drinker. Sasuke had convinced her to chug four cups consecutively.

And so there she sat, red-faced and tipsy, struggling to act normal within her mind. Sasuke knew she was plastered and smiled to himself. She was cute when she was drunk.

For the most part, their conversations up until that point were dry and rather awkward. Sasuke didn't mind, but Hinata was a ball of anxiety when it came to speaking to him. He admired how she was so soft-spoken, and how unlike all the other women he'd met in his days, she wasn't obnoxious or loud.

And of course, the drunker he got, and the longer he was around her, the more in-depth his thoughts about her grew.

Sasuke wasn't much of a thinker when it came to women; the routine usually was to scope out an attractive one, seduce her and leave before she wakes up. He'd never been attracted to a person he actually enjoyed company with.

_I wonder if I _could _seduce her... _He wondered, staring at her beautiful face beyond the rim of his cup. _And if I did, would I even want to leave in the morning?_

"You should drink more." He smirked deviously.

Hinata hiccupped cutely. "I-I don't know, I'm pretty drunk."

Sasuke slid his chair slightly closer to her; he had the idea implanted in his brain now. Hinata noticed this and started fiddling with a strand of her hair. He stared at her face, but her eyes averted him. "Just one more and I'll leave you alone."

"I don't know why you want me to get drunk so bad."

"Because I don't want to be the only one."

She shrugged and took a sip. "Fair enough."

Sasuke's constant stare on her was making her uneasy. She wanted so much to know what was running through his twisted mind, but had no idea how to ask even though she was drunk. As Hinata put the cup down, she was shocked to feel a hand run through her hair. She looked to the man with shock, who wore a content expression as he ran his fingers through some of her hair.

"S-Sasu- W-What are you doing!?" Her face hadn't been so red since the first time Naruto kissed her on the cheek.

"I just admire your hair." He spoke casually, as if this were normal. Hinata thought differently.

"U-Uh, thanks..."

"You know, I can't stop thinking about something..." He trailed off and dropped his hand, bringing it back to where it belonged; not touching Hinata.

"W-What's that?" She queried unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I'm saying it anyway. I can't understand why Naruto-baka would leave you in general, let alone for someone like Sakura."

Hinata's heart felt like it was going to tear a hole right through her chest and run away. "What do you mean..."

"You just seem like the perfect woman to me."

Hinata's head started spinning. "I-I do? Why are you saying this?" _This is so incredibly wrong, I have no idea what's happening but I do know it shouldn't be! _Her mind screamed at her. She wanted to leave but she was in her own house.

"I don't know, I'm drunk." He leaned back in his chair and stretched. "Just speaking my mind. I'm like that."

"O-Oh. Well, thank you... But I'm really no such thing as that."

"Perhaps not. But you're the first person I've met in a very long time that I actually somewhat enjoy spending time with."

"Why is that?"

Sasuke noticed a spark of interest glow in her nearly blank orbs, and in his drunken mind, he took this as a sign. "Does it matter?" He slid closer to her and put his hand on the back of her head, and pulled her face closer to his...

_Smack._

"What the hell are you doing!?" Hinata screeched, jumping away from him. A fresh hand print was implanted on his handsome face. Sasuke's expression, needless to say, was priceless, but Hinata wasn't concerned about that.

"You slapped me." He stated, standing up and looking to her with anger. "Why did you slap me?"

"Y-You just tried to kiss me!"

"Well yeah, so what?"

"What do you mean so what? This is totally wrong..." She placed her hand on her sweaty forehead. "Is this why you wanted to come over and drink with me? So you could try to sleep with me?"

It fully hit Sasuke then, even harder than Hinata's palm had collided with his face, that he was being _rejected. _"N-No! Don't flatter yourself, woman."

"I'm not flattering myself, you literally just tried to kiss me."

"It would have been just a kiss, I wasn't trying to sleep with you." He lied.

"I don't care... Please get out."

"Seriously?" He furrowed his eyebrows. "You're actually gunna kick me out?"

"Yes!"

"No way."

"Sasuke, get out." She pointed to the balcony, no longer caring that his dark eyes were ripping holes through her skin. "N-Now."

"No."

"Yes! Go!"

"Hn." Sasuke stood there for a few moments, taking in exactly what was happening. He sent her one last death glare, and muttered _bitch _under his breath as he took off into the night.

* * *

**A/N: **Heh, this chapter was entertaining to write. Thanks so much for all these reviews, if you have the time, please drop another! :)


	11. Dangerously Safe

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

**_chapter eleven; _**_dangerously safe__  
_

* * *

Hinata slammed the door of her balcony shut and locked it tight. Frantically, she ran around the room, making sure that all of her windows were locked as well. Her heart had probably never beat so fast before in her entire life; her head spun from a combination of alcohol and anxiety.

Once she knew she was secure, the kunoichi went and fell on her bed, still awestruck.

All she could think about was how Naruto would react if he found out about this; how the whole _town _would react. There was one more thing she was upset about though, the other part of this situation that was confusing her brain and making _her _feel dirty.

It was during that split second before she realized what was happening; as his face grew closer to hers, and their lips almost touched, where a flutter of ecstasy ran through her chest. She'd felt it before, ages ago, the first time Naruto ever kissed her. And now, in a drunken mess, she was thinking about what might have happened if she had let Sasuke kiss her.

Shortly after that, she drifted into sleep.

* * *

When Sasuke woke up, he found himself passed out in some ditch, confused and disoriented. His head pounded, and when he remembered the events of the previous night, he felt even worse.

_Wow, she actually rejected me._

_She was _drunk, _and she rejected _me.

He shook his head, and ran to the nearest bush to puke out whatever he had left in his stomach. He couldn't stop thinking about her, and the way she literally slapped him and kicked him out of her house. A woman had never acted that way towards him before; not a single one. Even women who were considerably older than him swooned at his words and stumbled over his touches.

_Yet this one..._

_No._

Sasuke stood up and brushed off his pants. _I will make her want me, _he thought with a smirk, before he fell back over and vomited in the bush.

* * *

Hinata had a scheduled meeting with the Hokage that day. She was hung over, and still freaking out about the night before, but she managed to make herself seem calm and content as always. As she entered the building and drew closer to Naruto's office, she heard two voices; one belonging to him, the other to Sakura. _Did he forget about our meeting? _She thought as her heart sunk. With a sigh, she knocked on the door anyway. Sakura was the one to answer. She looked at Hinata as if she were a ghost.

"O-Oh, h-hey..." Sakura awkwardly mumbled, sending Naruto a death glare.

"Oh, Hinata-chan, I forgot about our meeting. Come in." The blonde spoke nonchalantly. "I'll talk to you later, Sakura-chan." The pink haired girl nodded before scampering away. Hinata shut the door behind her.

"How could you forget?" She asked, irritated.

"I just got caught up talking to Sakura-chan." He shuffled some papers and set them aside. "So you want to take up another mission already?"

"Yes."

Naruto let out an elongated sigh. "Hinata-chan, I'm worried about you and how you are constantly on missions. You're never in town anymore. Why don't you stay for a few days-"

"And do what?" She cut him off, meeting his stare.

He awkwardly paused and gulped. "Well, you could visit friends or something, I dunno... You just shouldn't overwork yourself like this."

"Are you speaking to me as a Hokage, or what?" Hinata's question startled him. Naruto could tell that she was hung over and in an angry mood, and seeing Sakura definitely did not help the situation.

"As a friend..."

Hinata felt the familiar sensation of tears welling up inside of her. She bit her lip. "Please, I want to go on another mission."

"B-But-"

"_I'm _asking you, as a friend, to just let me work."

Naruto observed the face of the girl he'd once been in love with, and a strong feeling of guilt filled his chest. This was not the Hinata he once knew. With a last sigh, the Hokage nodded. "Okay. Well, I haven't actually received any requests since you returned from the Mist." He flipped through a few papers and started to read off one. "But there is one thing. I know the Mizukage called off the search for the missing-nin, but shortly after you returned, I sent out a few parties to keep looking."

"I wasn't aware." Hinata said, her interest sparked.

"I'm just a bit concerned about this, and when you told me that you were attacked in the Wave country, it only added to that." Naruto's voice was fully serious; Hinata hadn't heard him speak like that in a while. "Apparently, Aki Daichi has been spotted in Amegakure."

Hinata's heart thumped. "T-The Rain?"

"Yes. It's dangerous; to this day, I still don't know much about what happened to that village after the war. I sent a few ANBU to investigate, and sure enough, Aki Daichi was spotted..."

"Do you think this has something to do with terrorist activity?" Hinata's voice grew shaky.

"Yeah. That's what I'm worried about. I need somebody to infiltrate their society; find out what's really going on in that village. An undercover spy."

She paused for a few moments. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"It's going to be extremely dangerous, Hina-"

"If you didn't think I could do it, then why would you even tell me about it?" The kunoichi grew snappy with the Hokage, as she was fully aware that Naruto wasn't actually worried about her. She wouldn't be alone, after all.

"You're strong, you're smart, and we need your byakugan. I know you can do it. But I'm giving you the option not to."

"I'll leave in the morning." Hinata wanted nothing more than to snap on Naruto about Sasuke, and tell him that she knew the truth, but she bit her tongue and turned her back to him. "May I leave now?"

"Uh, yeah... Just come see me before you go, okay?"

"Right."

* * *

Hinata packed her clothes away in her bag, something she'd gotten used to doing lately. She knew exactly what to bring and where to put it off by heart now; there was no more of that scrambling around to find things. She was pulling a few shirts out of her drawer, when she heard a tap at her window. Sasuke leaded against the wall of her balcony casually, in his full ANBU uniform, minus the mask. His face was starting to grow familiar to her.

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Hinata went up and opened the door just enough to poke her head out.

"What do you want?" She queried.

"I want to talk." He stated, taking a step closer to her. She backed away and he opened the door, letting himself in. Hinata took a few wary steps away from him so she wouldn't be too close. Her heart thumped with anxiety once again.

"W-What do you want to talk about?" She muttered.

"Uh..." Sasuke awkwardly scratched his head and averted her eyes. "Look, I'm not really good at this kinda shit. Okay? But I'm sorry for trying to kiss you last night... I was drunk, I don't know what came over me."

Hinata was taken back, to say the least. "Y-You're apologizing?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, so what?" He sneered. She couldn't help but notice how childish Sasuke could be sometimes, in such a cute way. She then mentally slapped herself for thinking he was being cute.

"Um, well thanks. It's okay I guess." Hinata played with her fingers nervously.

The Uchiha sat down on the corner of her bed. "So, about this mission..."

"Naruto told you to follow me, didn't he?"

"Of course. This is an S-ranked mission, how many of these have you really gone on?"

"I-I dunno..." The girl sat down beside him at a comfortable distance away. She didn't want to show how nervous she really was.

"You don't need to worry."

Her head snapped to him. "W-Worry? I'm not worrying."

"As long as you're with me, you won't get hurt. That's all I'm saying. There's a reason Naruto chose me to be your bodyguard rather than anyone else."

"T-Thanks..."Hinata was in shock as his words, but she had to admit that she really did feel safe hearing him say that. _Dangerously_ safe. "Sasuke-san, have you ever been to Amegakure before?"

"Yeah. It's a strange place. I assume you've never seen it."

"No, n-never."

"Like I said, you don't have anything to worry about."

She met his eyes and smiled at him, despite his apathetic looking face. He looked away, and for a split second there, Hinata could have sworn she saw him blush.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for the lovely reviews as always guys! :) You all motivate me to keep on writing this story, and I'm so happy with the direction it's going in. I hope you all are too! I'll be updating again very soon. Please drop a **review **and let me know how you feel about this chapter! :D

Also, if you notice any grammatical or format errors, please point them out to me and I will fix them! And if you happen to notice any **loopholes **in the story, please point those out for me too x) a lot of the time when I'm writing a story, I'll forget some of the things I've already wrote and accidentally create a loophole. xD


	12. As Time Moves On

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

**_chapter twelve; _**_as time moves on_

* * *

Hinata stood yet again in the Hokage's office, silently waiting for him to say something. It was quiet, and it was awkward, much as it always was. Finally, the blonde spoke.

"Here, take these."

"What is it?" Hinata asked, looking at the strange gift with confusion. It was a small plastic box containing two black disks floating in water.

"Contact lenses." He said. "Put them on your eyes to hide your Byakugan. You're going undercover as a spy, remember? If a Hyuga is roaming around the village, people will definitely be suspicious." The girl nodded, and Naruto handed her a bag full of clothes. "And you should wear these. Get rid of all the other stuff you have in your backpack."

"B-But why? I've already packed everything."

"Well just make sure that you don't bring anything that bears the symbol of Konoha, even if its hidden in your bag."

"R-Right. I keep forgetting that this isn't a normal mission."

Naruto smiled brightly at her. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine."

Hinata blushed and looked away. "Y-Yeah..." She used to love it when Naruro smiled at her, but now it was one of her least favourite things. She hated how he could still smile at her and pretend that nothing ever happened between them, despite the fact that he had torn her heart in two.

* * *

Hinata was feeling paranoid as she ran through the trees alone. But of course, it wasn't long before Sasuke revealed himself. There was no point in hiding, after all. She had stopped by a stream for a quick rest, when she heard a twig snap.

"W-Who's there?"

"Guess." He said as he emerged from the shadows, smirking at her. A strange wave of relief washed over her.

"Took you long enough." She joked.

"Yeah, well I left a bit later than you. I wanted to grab a bottle."

Hinata laughed. "You're an alcoholic, Sasuke-san."

"I know." He came and sat down in the grass beside her. "It's going to take a while to get to Amegakure, you know."

"I know that." She stood up and brushed off her pants. "Come on, let's go. I want to get there as quickly as possible."

* * *

By the time night fell, the two were still far away from their destination. It was Sasuke's idea to stop and set up camp in the forest, but Hinata was reluctant.

"I-I dunno. We should just keep going. I don't need sleep or anything." She peeped as she watched Sasuke throw some logs together in a pit.

"Yeah you do, dumbass." The man sneered, before making a quick hand seal. Flames came billowing out of his mouth, setting the logs ablaze. For a moment, Hinata was in a trance. Sasuke caught himself looking at the reflection of the flames in her brilliant white orbs. "Let's just stay here." He said as her eyes flickered to his.

"Fine."

Sasuke sat down and took off some of his gear. Hinata hesitantly did the same, sitting on the opposite side of the fire. The man didn't think twice before pulling out his bottle of saké. "Do you want some?"

Hinata nodded, though her conscious told her that it was a bad idea, based on what happened last time. He handed her the bottle and she took a large swig.

"And _I'm _the alcoholic." He said with a devilish grin.

"Whatever..." She muttered, taking yet another swig before handing it back. As Sasuke drank more, he found himself staring at her beyond the flames. She looked sad, with her eyes glued to the fire, wearing a solemn expression.

"What's up?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

Sasuke scoffed. "What do you think I mean? Was just asking what's on your mind."

"It doesn't matter." Hinata muttered, surprised that Sasuke would even ask such a thing.

"If you have something to talk about, I'd rather listen to it than sit here in silence." When she didn't answer, he sighed. "I don't talk to people. Ever. I wanna hear what's on your mind so just tell me."

"No... I don't want to talk about it."

"Well I wanna hear it."

"So? If I don't want to talk about it, then I don't have to."

"It's about that idiot, right?"

She sent him a violent glare, locking with his deep black eyes. She could have been more snappy, but Hinata only had so much attitude in her. She sighed in defeat. "Yeah, it's about Naruto-kun."

"Why are you so worried about him? He's a waste of your time."

"I don't think you'd understand even if I tried to explain it, Sasuke-san."

"Maybe not. But then again, maybe if you tell me what happened between you two, I could try." Sasuke took a drink from his bottle and handed it to her.

"You really want to hear it?"

"Yes, tell me. I'm actually curious; I've never heard the story."

Hinata exhaled, and took a drink, letting the warmth of the alcohol set in. The Uchiha was getting her drunk, yet again. "I'd always admired Naruto-kun, even when we were kids. I had a massive crush on him for years." She explained. "After the war, we finally got together, and for the first time in my life I experienced true happiness. We dated for a long time, fell in love, and moved in together after he became Hokage." Hinata's stare never left the fire as she spoke, and all Sasuke could do was watch the flames dance off her irises.

"Well that all sounds lovely." He spoke sarcastically. "But _then _what happened?"

"To be honest, I don't really know what happened. Things were going so well; we were talking about marriage, and even kids, but then it seems like one day everything just felt different. He stopped talking about those things with me, and he stopped smiling at me the way he used to. And when I noticed something was wrong, he wouldn't tell me. He just kept forcing himself to pretend like he was still happy even though I knew he wasn't.

It got to the point where he would sleep on the couch downstairs and say that he was just stressed out and tired. We stopped having sex, and he even stopped kissing me, until one day he came up to me and told me that he was in love with Sakura and had been sleeping with her for a while. And that was it." A single tear streamed down her cheek. "Naruto-kun always told me how much he loved me, and how much he wanted to marry me... Aren't I a fool for believing him?"

There was a long pause before Sasuke spoke. Hinata hid her head between her knees and allowed herself to cry a bit, though she was embarrassed about shedding tears in front of the Uchiha.

"What a fucking idiot." Was all Sasuke could say. Her head snapped to him with shock. "Don't give me that look, Hinata... I understand why that would hurt you and how much shit you probably went through because of that, but don't let that fool define you. Obviously Naruto was too stupid to appreciate what he had right in front of him, and he's going to regret it when you find someone who does."

"You don't understand, Sasuke-san. I _love _him."

"Tch. I have felt betrayal far worse than you could ever know. I can imagine how you feel. I _do _understand. All I'm saying is that if Naruto was so easily willing to do something like that to you, then he doesn't deserve your love, or whatever you wanna call it. Save your feelings for someone who's going to give as much as you do. Yeah, it's going to hurt for a while, but at the end of it all it's up to you whether you grow strong from this, or revert to weakness."

Much to his surprise, Hinata started to _laugh. _

"What's so funny?" He inquired with irritation.

"And here I am getting relationship advice from Sasuke Uchiha..." She chuckled drunkenly before meeting his eyes. "Really though, thank you, Sasuke-san. You bring up a good point. I just never imagined that I would be with anyone but Naruto-kun; he was my world. I'm slowly but surely coming to terms with the change."

"Hn. As time moves on, you'll get over it. Trust me."

She grinned. "Just this once, I will."

* * *

"What's the matter, Naruto-kun?" Sakura came up behind the Hokage and rubbed his shoulders, before placing a kiss on his cheek. The blond looked bummed out, with his chin rested on one hand.

"I've just been thinking, Sakura-chan."

"It's not about Hinata... Is it?" The pink haired kunoichi took a seat next to him at the dinner table so she could face him. He was finding it hard to meet her eyes.

"I just worry about her a lot. I feel guilty that I may have ruined the life of someone I care about."

Sakura straightened up her shoulders. "Well, Naruto-kun, you love me, don't you?"

He nodded, meeting those green eyes of hers. "I do. I don't think of Hinata-chan as a lover anymore. But she is still someone who I care about."

"You shouldn't worry about her... Hinata is strong, she'll be fine. And besides, you told me how you have Sasuke-kun watch over her during missions. So what are you worrying about?"

"Eh, you're right..." He forced a sheepish grin. "I won't worry anymore." Naruto wanted to tell Sakura what was really on his mind, but he couldn't. He knew that she would be upset if she knew that he was potentially second guessing his decision to be with her over Hinata. He hadn't thought twice about it until he saw Sasuke the other day, and the idea of him seducing his ex-lover popped into his head.

Naruto _hated _the idea of Sasuke having Hinata, and he wasn't sure why. _I'm sure there's nothing to worry about... _

Somehow, Naruto had his doubts about that.

* * *

Sasuke and Hinata were drunk again, to say the least. They lay on the grass by the fire, staring up at the stars; as always, Hinata made sure that she was a safe distance away. She was growing to be more comfortable with this man though; perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but for the time being, she was actually enjoying his company.

"I just saw a shooting star." Sasuke said, pointing up at the sky.

"Make a wish!" Hinata chimed.

"No."

"Fine then." She pouted, looking over at his face. He caught her staring at him and smirked. She blushed and pretended that it never happened. "L-Look, another falling star!"

"Make a wish." Sasuke flashed a cheeky grin.

"Yeah right!" She laughed. "You saw one first, so you have to."

He propped himself up on one elbow so he could look at her. "Even if I did make a wish, I doubt it would come true anyway."

"Well, what is it?"

"I can't tell you. Because if I do, then it certainly won't come true."

"True." She smiled. Sasuke stared at her face a lot; she wasn't sure why, and for the most part, she didn't like it. But for just a few seconds, she allowed their eyes to linger on each others before she looked away.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all so much for the reviews! :D I can't quite describe how happy I am to find people really enjoying what I'm writing. I already have some of the next chapter typed out; I wasn't quite sure about this one, so as always, please let me know what you think in a **review! **If you notice any errors or loopholes, holla at me 8)


	13. Zombified

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter thirteen; **zombified  
_

* * *

The rising sun opened up Hinata's eyes that morning, but it was her close proximity with the Uchiha that actually woke her.

As her eyelids fluttered open, she realized that there was an arm lazily draped across her stomach. She looked over and saw that Sasuke was sleeping facing her, a lot closer than she remembered him being when they passed out. She screamed and jumped away from him. The shinobi yawned and rolled on his back, clueless that he was even touching the girl. She decided to avoid a very awkward conversation and not bring it up. Instead, she kicked him to wake him up as she gathered her things.

"Morning already?" He yawned.

"Um, yeah. Let's go."

"Right now?" Sasuke sat up and stretched. "Don't be so rushed, woman. Let's eat something first."

It wasn't worth it to argue with him, so they sat for a bit and ate before taking off.

As they neared Amegakure, Hinata remembered the contacts that Naruto gave her. She had never put them in before and had absolutely no idea how to do it, so when she tried, Sasuke simply laughed at her.

"Just touch it to your eye." He said through an amused smirk.

"As if you've ever done this before!" She squealed. Every time she tried, she just ended up poking herself in the eye. Sasuke scoffed and grabbed her wrist, ultimately freezing her body.

"Let me do it."

"O-Okay..." He took the lens from her and held her eye open. He simply touched it to her eye, and it stuck.

"There. See? It's easy."

"Thanks..." She blinked a few times. "How do they look? They feel weird."

Sasuke took a step back and observed her; she looked bizarre without her beautiful white orbs. "Well, you look more normal, I guess."

"W-Whats that supposed to mean..." She mumbled.

"I just meant that you look like a normal person now, not a Hyuga."

"O-Oh. Well good. So they work?"

"Yep."

"Then let's get going."

* * *

Hinata couldn't believe what her eyes were showing her as Amegakure came into view. She had never seen anything like it before; the town had a gloomy cloud hanging over it, and the buildings were so tall that they reached right into the smoggy atmosphere. It was a village full of oddly shaped skyscrapers, coated with countless power chords that loosely hung from the buildings.

As they got closer, she noted how the village was heavily guarded. There was a massive gate standing in their way.

"Don't worry." Sasuke said, as if he could read her mind. "I have the Sharingan, remember?" She sighed in relief.

"Halt!" One of the guards shouted to them when they neared a gate titled 'entrance three'. "Who are you? What business do you have here?"

"Shut up." Sasuke said, activating his genjutsu. The man's expression instantly changed from angry to _zombified._

"Go right on ahead." He turned a latch and the gate opened, revealing the innards of the city. Sasuke knew what to expect, but Hinata was in awe. She had never been to such a dark, gloomy place before. The streets were messy, and the wandering people looked nothing but _lost._

"What kind of place is this?" She muttered to Sasuke.

"A fucked up one."

This was one situation where Hinata wanted to be as close to Sasuke as possible. Their arms brushed as they walked, and under normal circumstances, she would have been very uncomfortable with this.

"I wonder how Naruto expected you to get into this place alone? We probably would have never been able to get through that gate without my genjutsu." Sasuke said.

"I really don't know." Hinata spoke in almost a whisper. "He did tell me that he didn't know much about what happened here after the war. Maybe he didn't expect it to have such surveillance."

"Hn. That would make sense. Idiotic Hokage." She ignored him and tried to scope out a hotel for them to check into. The amount of buildings overwhelmed her, but Sasuke was completely calm as always. "There should be a hotel around here somewhere. Just don't leave my side, okay?"

"I don't plan on it..." She grumbled under her breath.

After another ten minutes of searching, they finally stumbled upon a sketchy looking hotel. It was unkept, and looked as though it could have been falling apart, but it would have to do. The concierge at the front desk was a tattered looking man who wore a hat to cover his face.

"You two together?" He asked with his scruffy voice.

"Yes." Sasuke answered.

"Separate rooms, please." Hinata chimed in. Sasuke squinted his eyes at her.

"No can do, only one room available." The man said.

"W-What? But this hotel is huge."

"Sorry miss, lotta homes got flooded not too long ago, townsfolk are taking refuge in the hotels."

"One room is fine." Sasuke cut in, and took the key from the man. "Thanks." He grabbed Hinata by the arm and dragged her out of ear distance. "Listen, I know you don't want to share a room with me, but the people in this village are very suspicious. We need to be as low-key as possible."

"Okay, s-sorry..."

He dropped her arm. "Come on, we have a lot of stairs to climb."

Their room was on the tenth floor of the building. Hinata still couldn't believe that _every _room could be taken, but she had no choice. She was sharing a room with Sasuke; she just hoped that there would be two beds. _I'll sleep on the floor if I have to... _

Of course, with Hinata's luck, their room was dinky, smelly, and only had one bed.

"Well, at least it has a balcony." She said as she approached the sliding door.

"It could be worse." Sasuke replied, throwing all of his things carelessly to the floor.

"I dunno, it's pretty bad." Hinata laughed. "There's not even a table or anything."

"Still could be worse." He laid down on the bed. "Though I will admit, this mattress sucks."

She walked over and sat down on the edge. "Yep. As hard as a rock."

"Hn. Well you enjoy that tonight."

She twisted her body around to face his. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to make you share a bed with me; I'll crash on the floor."

The girl didn't know how to reply to this, so she simply ignored it. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the light, and was shocked at her appearance. She really did look weird with black eyes, rather than white.

"What, don't like the new look?" Sasuke taunted.

"N-Not really..." She muttered.

"Me neither. You look better as a Hyuga."

_There he goes with those double-sided compliments... _She thought, leaving the washroom. "So, I presume we should start wandering the village. I have a photo of the man we're looking for in my bag, though, Naruto-kun wasn't necessarily clear on the objective. He simply told me to find out what is happening in this village."

"And that's exactly what we'll do." Sasuke said as he leaned his back up against the wall. "It's not that difficult, really."

"T-This place is massive." She stuttered. "I don't know where to begin."

"Then we'll start where we are." His expression suddenly twisted into a malicious grin. "You do realize how fucked you would be without me, right?"

* * *

Hinata noticed how many eyes fell upon her and Sasuke as they walked down the street. Every corner they turned, people stared at them as if they were either aliens, or fresh meat.

"As you can see, there aren't a lot of good looking people here." Sasuke explained. "This part of the village is stricken with poverty. Don't worry, they will just assume that we're rich people coming from the other side of town."

The kunoichi nodded, though she still felt uneasy with so many eyes on her. After about an hour of walking, they found themselves in the heart of downtown.

"S-Sasuke, look..." Hinata nodded towards a group of about seven men who were walking into a sketchy looking hotel. Each man glanced over his shoulder as he entered, and the last one to go in was none other than Aki Daichi.

"That the guy we're looking for?"

She nodded grimly. "This all l-looks so suspicious... W-What do you presume we do?"

Sasuke lightly grabbed Hinata by the arm and dragged her into a blocked off alleyway. "Use your Byakugan and find out which floor and unit they're going to." He instructed.

"R-Right. Byakguan!" The veins all along the sides of her eyes bulged out as her perspective changed. Hinata could now see through the walls, and could see the men climbing up the stairs. "Fifth floor... Looks like unit 504."

"Okay. Hmm." Sasuke rubbed his chin in thought. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

"This is never going to work." Hinata whispered through clenched teeth. She couldn't see the evil smirk Sasuke wore from the cart she was hiding in, that the Uchiha was gladly pushing. He was fully suited up in an employee uniform that he had stolen from a boy prior to this.

"Yes it will. I just need to be let in the room without making any noise, before I trap them all in my genjutsu and steal their documents."

Hinata gulped. At least she got a good laugh out of Sasuke in a uniform with a funny hat. When she felt the cart stop, she knew that they had arrived at the destination. Now, the moment of truth.

"Room service." Sasuke spoke nonchalantly as he knocked on the door. Hinata didn't understand how he could be so calm in such a situation; her heart was about to jump right out of her chest. A man opened the door and gave Sasuke a dirty look.

"Room service?" He asked, before he met eyes with the Sharingan. In a flash, the man's expression melted. "Oh, yes, the room service I ordered. Come right in."

Sasuke pushed the cart in, and saw the necks of all the men turn to him. They all glared at him suspiciously.

"Who's this brat?" One man said, spitting tobacco into a cup. Sasuke's eyes flashed red, sending every man in the room into a world of illusions.

"Well, that was easy." He said. "Hinata, come out."

Hesitantly, the girl poked her head out from inside the cart. "A-Are you sure they're all passed out?" She looked at the faces of all the men, who sat there like zombies, with their eyes creepily rolling in the backs of their heads. Hinata couldn't help but shudder at the power of the Sharingan.

"Shut up and start looking around." The shinobi ordered, as if he were her drill sergeant. With a roll of her orbs, she obeyed and started searching through drawers. Sasuke did the same, looking through their bags, pockets, wallets and more.

Suddenly, a tremendously loud alarm rang throughout the city. "W-What the hell is that!?" Hinata squealed, scampering out to the balcony. Sasuke came out behind her, blocking his ears with his hands.

"Tch. What the fuck is going on?" He spat.

_"Attention, attention."_ A voice spoke over the alarm. _"This is an intruder alert."_

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all sososo much for the lovely reviews :) I'm actually astonished at how much positive feedback I've been getting! You're all the best!

Anyway, I feel like I wrote this chapter poorly ._. Let me know what you think in a **review** please!


	14. Fire and Lightning, Water and Wind

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter fourteen; **fire and lightning, water and wind_

* * *

"Two raven haired ninja were spotted breaching the gates earlier today; one male, one female, both with dark black eyes." The voice over the speaker emanated.

"Shit." Sasuke and Hinata said simultaneously.

"They are currently hiding somewhere in the village. These individuals may pose a threat to the safety and security of our village. A reward will be presented to whoever captures them."

"Fuck." They said again.

"The hunt begins now."

The alarm stopped, and a wave of rioting screams from down below were heard. Hinata and Sasuke stood frozen for a moment, before the panic began.

"I don't know how the hell they noticed us." Sasuke said, for the first time, with panic in his voice. "I trapped that man at the gate in my genjutsu; there's no way he could remember."

"W-Whatever, let's just grab what we can and get the hell out of this crazy village." Hinata scattered around the room grabbing all the random papers and things that she could find. "What are we going to do? We can't just walk to the hotel... Every person in this village is looking for us."

"I know that, stupid." Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, I have a plan." He went to the balcony with the Hyuga following. "Get on my back."

"W-What?"

"Get on my back."

"W-Why?"

"Don't make me repeat it again, just do it!"

Reluctantly, the girl climbed on the Uchiha's back, and held on tight as he soared off through the air. Sasuke jumped from building to building, aimlessly searching for the hotel. They saw how the people below were running ramped, even questioning and attacking each other. They reminded Hinata of a bunch of enraged ants. Finally, Sasuke found the hotel and swooped on the balcony.

"I'm sure many people just noticed us jumping through the buildings so hurry up and get your shit." He ordered, flinging his bag over his shoulder. Hinata frantically zipped up her backpack and did the same.

"T-This is crazy. H-How are we going to get out?"

"I'm going to have to get us over that gate." There was a knock on the door, and they both froze. "There's no time to think, let's go." Sasuke let Hinata climb on his back yet again.

"Y-You know, it's not really necessary for you to carry me..." She muttered.

"It is. You won't be able to reach the same heights I can." And with that, Sasuke dove into the sky. As much as Hinata hated to admit it, he was right. Sasuke was like an untamed hawk without wings. She felt like she was going to fall right off of him due to his tremendous velocity. Naruto always did talk about how he was jealous of how fast Sasuke was on his feet; she assumed that this was him at his full speed. Within moments, the gate was in plain sight. Sasuke perched at the top of a building and let her down.

"Now, the annoying part." He said, looking down to see the faces of people looking up at them, pointing their fingers.

"Well, we've evidently been spotted..." Hinata muttered, turning to the man. "N-Now what?"

"I don't know. Any bright ideas, genius?"

The girl scoffed. "No." _Jeez, I know this is a stressful situation but does he have to be so rude?_

"Didn't think so. We're going to have to just tackle this head on."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean let's just go for it. Those common folk will have a hell of a time capturing us, with me here, anyway."

Hinata gulped. "Let's do this."

* * *

The two made it to the gate, but it was so tall, and there were no buildings near it, so there was literally no way to the top without wings. Sasuke and Hinata were forced to land on the ground right before the gate, finding themselves face to face with dozens of rattled people.

"You know, it's times like this that I really miss having that curse mark." Sasuke mused.

"Don't kill anyone." Hinata whispered harshly as they backed up against the wall.

"To hell with that." He spat, activating his Sharingan.

"Sasuke, don't kill _anyone." _She repeated sternly. The Uchiha scoffed at her in response.

"Fine, have it your way."

A few people charged at them, and Hinata was quick on her toes to react. The girl spun like a top, creating a vortex around herself that sent all the people tumbling backwards. Sasuke stood stationary nearby, impressed at her quick reaction time.

As if directly from the clouds, a man dropped out of the sky. He was wearing a Rain flak jacket and a headband. "Who are you people?" He questioned, receiving nothing but a grimace from both the Uchiha and the Hyuga.

"Call your people off before they start to die." Sasuke warned, flashing his brilliant orbs.

The man began to laugh. "You really think you're so tough, do you?"

"Don't test it."

"Let us go now, please!" Hinata interrupted. "I don't want to hurt any of your people. We are just passing through your village, we mean no harm."

"Two shady ninja breach my village, come in here without permission, then try to escape? Sounds awfully suspicious, if you ask me." The townsfolk behind him shouted in agreement. The man took a few steps closer to the two. "And did you think I wouldn't notice those eyes?" A sly smirk crossed his face. "I know who you are."

Sasuke's red irises flickered. "Is that so?"

"Sasuke-san," Hinata nudged him with her elbow. "just use your genjutsu like before, get them all to leave us alone."

"Tch. Do you really think I can use it on so many people at once?"

"W-Well, I dunno."

"Just stand there and don't talk, I'll do what I can."

"Give up yet?" The Rain shinobi spoke again. "We're taking you to cells, whether you like it or not." Sasuke grinned maliciously as he met the eyes of his pursuer. The man's expression melted into a blank stare.

"Open the gates." Sasuke demanded.

"Okay." The man said simply.

"What!?" The crowd exclaimed, outraged.

"What do you mean, Katsu-sensei?" One woman shouted, running to his side. She grabbed him by the shoulders and was shocked at the dead look in his eyes. "W-What is wrong with you?"

"Let them go." Katsu slurred. "Open the gates." They all began to chatter in confusion, unaware of the torment the man was experiencing in his mind. He was trapped in a full blown hallucination, in which all he could see was the Sharingan, and could hear nothing but Sasuke's voice on repeat like a broken record; _open the gates. Let them go. _

The girl turned to Sasuke with a hateful grimace. "What did you do to him?"

"Open the gates." Katsu demanded, ignoring the girls pleas. Sasuke simply laughed, and smirked evilly as he watched the gates behind them lift.

"Hinata, now's our only chance. Run for it." He whispered in her ear, and that was all she needed to hear; the two Leaf ninja disappeared in front of the village's eyes. Sasuke smirked one last time as he heard all the commotion fade out behind them.

* * *

Coming into a clearing in the woods after a good 20 minutes of vigorous running, Hinata and Sasuke finally stopped for a break. Hinata collapsed to the ground, and much to Sasuke's surprise, started _laughing._

"What's so funny?" He inquired with a twisted look, sitting down next to her. She rolled into her stomach and faced him with a jubilant smile.

"That was the most excitement I've had in years." She grinned. "My heart is still pounding; that was insane!"

"Hn." Sasuke chuckled a bit too. "That was kinda fun. Haven't been put in a situation comparable to that in years..." He trailed off and laid back, looking up at the trees that hung overhead. "You were good back there, too."

Hinata's head snapped to him. "I-I was?"

"Yeah. You kept calm and didn't make any rash decisions. You... Make for a good ally."

Hinata's face flushed at his words. "U-Um, thanks, Sasuke-san."

"Whatever." He rolled away so she couldn't see his slightly red face. _What the hell is this weird feeling in my stomach? _He thought.

"And thanks for everything else, too..." She spoke quietly, nervousness lacing her voice.

Sasuke faced her again and grinned at her condition. "Don't mention it."

Hinata smiled at him sweetly, causing him to experience that foreign feeling in his stomach again; he chose to pretend it never happened, and watched as she took out her bag and started to gather the documents that they snatched.

"I'm going to be pissed off if we didn't even find any dirt on those guys." Sasuke said, mirroring her actions. Hinata's eyes narrowed as she read over one sheet.

"I've already found something. Look." She handed the folder to the Uchiha. "It seems to be a full file of information on Aki Daichi... His birthplace, his parents names, his affiliation with the Mist as well as the Rain. There's information on the other men, too."

Sasuke read over the document carefully. "So he was born in Amegakure. I wonder if the Mizukage knows that?"

"Who knows..." Hinata mutttered grimly.

Sasuke started to read one of the documents from his bag. "Well, there's no doubt about it. Amegakure is definitely plotting something strange here." He shuffled into her personal bubble and showed her the paper. "This is an old letter from this Aki guy, stating that he has infiltrated the Mist and has gained intellect on the status of their army, and the Mizukage."

"So I guess that's another reason the Mizukage was so concerned about finding him... She must have told him a lot of dirt about the village."

"Yeah. Read this last line."

"I will return to Amegakure and reconcile with you immediately, so we can initiate phase two... Infiltration of... Konohagakure..." Hinata instinctively gulped. "We should get this information back to Naruto-kun immediately."

For whatever reason, Sasuke laughed. "Don't look so grim. You saw that place, do you really think whatever they're plotting is so dangerous to us?"

"I don't know, but I do know that it isn't smart to underestimate the enemy."

"Good point." Sasuke stood up and offered her a hand. "Well, let's get going then."

* * *

"You know, I've been thinking..." Naruto said as him and Sakura grazed the outskirts of town. "Do you think that Sasuke has revealed himself to Hinata? I mean, do you think she'd have noticed or something?"

Sakura's expression twisted in confusion. "I dunno... Where is all this coming from?"

"It's just been on my mind."

"So what if she does find out?"

"Er, I guess it wouldn't _really_ matter... But I feel guilty for telling her that I trust her strength, but then sending Sasuke to stalk her without her knowing... I just don't want to face the look she'll give me if she finds out."

"No offense, but it's kind of stupid for you to have sent him to stalk her to begin with..."

"I know, I know." He sighed. "But she seemed to be losing it after we broke up, with all of those solo missions, plus the drinking. I needed Sasuke to secure that she wasn't endangering herself too much... To help ease my concious, y'know? He was the only person I trusted for the job. I didn't think it through much."

Sakura paused for several moments before answering. She dropped Naruto's hand and turned to face him with a bewildered expression. "Do you still love her?"

"W-Wha?" The blonde's face turned red. "No... We've been through this, Sakura-chan. I'm just concerned for her as a friend."

"Hmph." Sakura rolled her eyes and started walking ahead.

"Why are you mad?" He inquired, catching up to her quickened pace. "I left her for you... But you can't expect me to just completely stop caring about her..."

"I just feel like you think about her too much. And why are you concerned if her and Sasuke affiliate?"

"I-I told you, I don't want to face her-"

Sakura suddenly twirled around and pointed her finger right into his chest, wearing a grimace that he had not seen for some time. "You know, Naruto, as much as you've grown up, you're still awfully naïve sometimes." And with that, the pink haired girl stormed off towards the village.

"Sakura-chan, wait!" He called after her, but was quick to give up as he saw she wasn't returning. With a sigh of defeat, the young Hokage collapsed into the grass and stared up at the sky, his thoughts of Sakura's words still dwindling.

* * *

Hinata and Sasuke arrived at the outskirts of the leaf late after dark. The village was dead quiet on nights like this, where there was nothing to be heard but the storm brewing above head. The clouds swirled in vicious bundles of black and gray, with the occasional boom of thunder and a flash of lightening in the distance.

"The storm will be hitting here any moment." Sasuke said, before laughing as Hinata jolted at the unexpected crash of loud thunder.

"Y-Yeah... That was definitely closer than the last one..." The girl trembled at the mere thought.

"What are you so afraid of? You bravely risk your life every day being a ninja, yet a little thunder gives you the chills?" An amused smirk laced his handsome features.

"I've just always been freaked out by them, alright? I never said it was a rational fear."

"True. Well if you want, I can walk you to your apartment."

"Um, sure." Hinata couldn't help but be weirded out at this proposition. Then again, Sasuke Uchiha was always full of surprises, it seemed. In his mind, he wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to be away from her just yet.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Sasuke actually _wanted _to be near another human being... Now _that _was weird.

Plus, her adorable fear of storms always brought a grin to his statue-like face.

In the village, Sasuke didn't bother to hide himself. Everyone had their windows closed and locked tight, and it was nearly 3 am so it was doubtful many people were even awake. The two leisurely walked next to each other in silence, which was fine; at that point, they both seemed to have a mutual understanding that silence could be comfortable. Drips of rain started to fall from the sky; Sasuke looked up. Unlike Hinata, he actually enjoyed storms, especially those of high magnitude.

"You know, I actually like the rain." Hinata spoke quietly. Sasuke sent her a confused look, and saw that she was also staring up at the sky. "I just don't like the thunder, or the lightning..."

"I like it all. Then again, lightning is one of my elements."

"Yeah, I knew that. I've seen you use it before..." She laughed awkwardly. "Kinda scared me."

"I'll remember that if I ever need to fight you." He joked.

"Ehhh, I'd rather not."

"What are your elements, anyway?"

"Water and wind, though I don't use them often during battle."

"I have fire and lightning, yet you have water and wind. Those elements clash interestingly... Kind of like you and I do." There was an awkward silence after that, in which Sasuke instantly asked himself _why the hell did I just say that? _And Hinata thought _what is that supposed to mean? He says such weird things sometimes..._

Booming thunder pierced their ears, causing Hinata to nearly jump right out of her clothes. The lighting that preceded this was so bright that it hurt both of their eyes. It wasn't long after that the torrential downpour began.

"Shit." Hinata muttered, picking up her pace considerably. _At least I'm almost home... _The two stopped under the canopy that hungover the front of her apartment building. It seemed as though the rain was doing nothing but getting heavier. "Thank you for walking me home, Sasuke-san." Hinata said, finding it hard to lock eyes with him.

"Don't mention it... You sure you're gunna be alright by yourself?" He inquired, unintentionally saying another awkward thing.

"Y-Yeah... I think I'll make it." _Though that is somewhat of a lie..._ "Well, goodnight then." She turned to go inside, but he stopped her.

"When can I see you next?"

"Um... Soon... I'm sure..." The tension in the air was so high, that Hinata momentarily forgot there was a huge storm happening, until another boom of thunder was heard. "Uh, I really wanna go in now, so goodnight, Sasuke-san." She skittishly disappeared into the building before Sasuke even had the chance to wave.

* * *

Inside, Hinata was huddled under her blankets with all her blinds shut, trying to block out the sound of the storm. She thought about how this was the first time she had ever truly had to live through a storm alone. Growing up, there were always people she could count on to keep her company during stormy nights; she had her cousin, Neji, or her little sister, Hanabi. When she moved out of her home, the first place she lived was of course, with Naruto, who knew exactly how to calm her down.

And now, as she sat completely alone in her apartment, cringing at every flicker of lightning and spark of thunder, she started to regret not inviting Sasuke in.

Though she still hardly knew him, she was beginning to view him differently; his once obscure, looming presence now seemed to hold warmth in her memory; she recalled conversing with him, laughing with him, and even enjoying a comfortable silence with him. They had worked together, as if they were truly partners, and achieved something great together; those documents were a great find, and Hinata never would have been able to do it, had the Uchiha not been by her side.

And now, somehow, thinking of him was the only thing distracting her from the storm.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! Thanks as always for the reviews, sorry that it took me a bit of time with this chapter . I'm really trying to make this the best I can, despite the writers block I'm having. I think the "action" bit of this chapter kinda sucks (and is probably rushed) because I'm really not much of an action writer LOL, but I tried, so I hope you guys like it! Drop a **review** and let me know how you feel about this chapter, your opinions are all very inspiring :')

And as always, constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged!

Also, happy SasuHina month!


	15. The Drunk of the Forest

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter fifteen; **the drunk of the forest  
_

* * *

Sasuke grumbled to himself as he ran home in the downpour. He was hoping that Hinata would invite him in... But it was painfully obvious that she had no interest in _that_. So the now grumpy Uchiha stumbled into his lonely house, and went straight for his stash of liquor. He was used to getting drunk alone, and just generally being alone, as he had done it for years; but now, for reasons unknown to him, the eery silence of his empty home was discomforting.

The drip of the tap irritated him, and on top of that, his electricity was out so he had resorted to candlelight. He pondered what it would be like to have Hinata there with him; she would probably hate his house. It wasn't even a house, really; more like a run-down shack in the middle of the forest. It was about 40 minutes walking distance to the village, but still, no one had ever came to bother him. He imagined people talked about his house as if it were the ogre's lair hidden deep in the forest; parents probably warned their kids not to go too far into the forest, because the Uchiha monster would get them.

He drunkenly laughed to himself, lighting a cigarette. Once again, his thoughts drifted back to the Hyuga girl. Sasuke had been working alone for so long, seldom contacting anyone but Naruto, that he had forgotten what it was like to be around another person. Or, to _want _to be around another person.

As he chugged back his bottle of whiskey, he fell back on his bed and stared up into the darkness that was his ceiling. _I haven't had sex in a while... _He mused, his mind wandering to a bit of a darker valley. Normally, when Sasuke began to feel sexually frustrated, he would drunkenly wander off to the next village over in search of a random female whom he could easily seduce. It was childs play for him; he could walk into a bar, literally sit beside a woman, and she would already be willing to strip down for him. It took no charisma, intellect or effort for him to get what he wanted from the opposite sex.

Which brought him back to point A; _Why is Hinata so different?_

* * *

Early the next morning, Hinata went straight to the Hokage's office. The streets were slightly flooded from the storm, but the sun was now out and the birds were singing. She woke up feeling comfortable and confident that day, so when she entered Naruto's office, she was a lot less nervous than she normally was.

"H-Hinata-chan... This is amazing." The blonde praised as he looked through the documents. "You really uncovered something here. I'm going to set up a meeting with the Mizukage to discuss this further."

"Yes, I haven't read over all of the documents myself, so I'm not sure if it's all useful information... But there is proof of terrorist activity in there."

"R-Really, it's amazing." He beamed. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

"You're welcome."

Naruto pulled out an envelope containing her payment. "You earned this. I put some extra in, you did really well. And in such a short amount of time, too."

There was a knock on the door, and Sakura poked her head in, not expecting to see Hinata.

"Oh, sorry..." She peeped.

"No, it's okay, I'm leaving now." Hinata said before the girl could dip away.

"Okay, well thank you very much again. This is an incredible find." Naruto smiled.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't have done it alone." Hinata smirked as she brushed pass Sakura and out the door, leaving the two with dumbfounded expressions.

* * *

Sasuke woke up in a mangled position on the floor. Apparently, he'd rolled off of his bed during his restless sleep and knocked over his ashtray in the process. Now, ash and cigarette butts covered his floor. Muttering angered gibberish, he ignored the mess climbed back onto his bed, feeling the full effect of his hangover set in. He looked over at the clock; 1:00 pm...

"Fuck..." He muttered, knowing that he should get up, but his body didn't agree. An unsuspected knock on his door pulled him out of his comatose state. "Who the fuck is it?" He shouted.

"Sasuke, it's me." Naruto's raspy voice responded, instantly making Sasuke's headache worse.

"What do you want?"

The blonde invited himself in, noting that Sasuke forgot to lock his door, as usual. "Hungover again?" The Hokage raised an eyebrow at the position his friend was in; he was practically falling off the bed, with his face planted into his pillow.

"Get me water." Sasuke demanded.

Naruto scoffed, but obliged. "You realize what time it is, right, teme?"

"I just woke up. Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't, really."

Sasuke managed to roll over and sit up in time to greedily snatch the cup of water from Naruto. "So why are you here?" He asked breathlessly after chugging the entire cup.

"Eh, no reason, really..." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, in which Sasuke eyed him with heavy suspicion.

"Go away then." Sasuke threw the cup at him and rolled over again.

"H-Hey, I'm the Hokage now, y'know!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing the cup back.

"You're still a dobe to me." He grinned, facing him. "No really though, what brings you to my shit hole at this hour?"

Naruto looked around the room, and couldn't help but agree with the shit hole part... Though Sasuke was normally a very clean person, his room was covered in empty alcohol bottles, packs of cigarettes and food wrappers. He also realized that he was standing in a pile of butts. Uncomfortably moving away from the mess, he sat down on the bed at his friend's feet. "I wanted to ask you something, actually."

Sasuke's ears perked up. "What is it?"

"Have you, uh, talked to Hinata?"

"Hmm?" He trailed off for a moment. "So what if I did?"

Naruto's expression was grim. "So you did?"

"I never said that... I asked you a question."

"I asked you first."

"Regardless..." Sasuke continued. "Why would it matter if I did?"

"Well I told you not to, for one. Because I wanted to keep the whole following her thing disclosed."

"I get that, but it seems to me like there's a bit more to it than that."

"Stop fucking with me, Sasuke." Naruto grimaced. "Just answer the damn question."

"No."

"Answer it!"

"That was the answer... No, I haven't spoken to her. Why would you even ask me that?"

"You two have both been acting weird lately."

"I'm just the same. Maybe she's acting weird because she's getting over you."

Naruto paused for several moments as he sat on that statement. "I don't know." He stood up with a sigh. "Nevermind, then. I'll see you later."

"You do realize that she's going to move on one day, right?" A taunting tone laced Sasuke's voice. "She's not going to sit there and dwell on you forever."

"Tch. Shut up, teme. You don't know anything..." Naruto turned to leave the room. "And clean this place up man, what's gotten into you lately? You must be awfully depressed to be living like this."

"Ehh, whatever, Hokage-sama." Sasuke attempted to throw a miscellaneous object at Naruto, but he dodged it.

"Later!" The blonde disappeared out the door before they could bicker at each other any more. This was normal for them, of course; their relationship had always been somewhat dependable on arguing and messing with each other, but in a weird way, that was what made them best friends.

Sasuke buried his face into his blankets, thinking back on what Naruto said... _You must be awfully depressed to be living like this. _He took in the haggard appearance of his room. Sasuke was a bit of a clean freak by nature, but after discovering alcoholism the past year, he really had let himself go... But he never thought of it like that.

_I'm... Depressed?_

* * *

Hinata wasn't sure what the source of her euphoric happiness was that day, but she wasn't complaining. She was more than happy with the payment she received for the mission, and took some time out of her day to go clothes shopping and pick up some food to make her favourite meal.

Still, it was lonely cooking for just herself. Naruto used to love when she made him food, but now, she had no one left to cook for. She often found herself eating instant noodles or sandwiches. But Hinata was in a good mood that day; she wasn't going to let her loneliness bring her down. After she ate, she sat down at the table and got lost in a good book. She didn't realize hours had passed; it was already 9 o'clock.

"Hmm..." She mused, thinking about how Sasuke hadn't lurked around her yet. The Uchiha had been on her mind on and off throughout the day, and she was half expecting him to randomly show up with a bottle of saké. In a weird way, part of her was hoping that would happen.

But this time, it didn't.

* * *

Sasuke had been half wanting to go pester Hinata, but he was preoccupied that night. After hearing Naruto's words, he found himself cleaning his entire house down to every single nook and cranny. He threw away all the garbage, organized all of his belongings, even washed the floor and counter. What was taking him the most time by the end of the night was cleaning up his kitchen. He had neglected to clean up the stove or sink, so he had old splotches of food and dishes lying around.

His place really was disgusting, and he was mortified that he hadn't even realized himself. He wasn't home very often, but when he was, he was always completely intoxicated. But that night, he made the decision to not even open a bottle of alcohol, though he was very tempted.

Sasuke let out an exhausted sigh as he glanced over at his now pristine kitchen. The counters were so clean, that they even glistened in the reflection of his candlelight; and yes, his electricity was still out. With a pleased grin, Sasuke declared himself finished, and wandered back into his room. It definitely made him feel more clear minded with a spotless place.

And now, the hard part. Figuring out how to occupy himself.

Back in the day, when he was training to defeat Itachi, he never really had a problem entertaining himself because he was always training, or just lost in his dream like thoughts of revenge. But things were different now; years had passed, he was now an adult, and in all honesty there wasn't really anything that he was even living for. It used to be to kill Itachi, then it was to destroy Konoha, but then it was _save _Konoha by killing Madara and the ten tailed beast, then it was to rebuild the village, then...

_Restoring my clan, right._

"Fuck it." He muttered, opening his alcohol cupboard.

* * *

At around 9:00 am the next morning, Hinata woke up feeling refreshed after her much-needed beauty sleep. The girl sat up in her bed and stretched, before making her way over to the balcony to get some early morning air. With a smile, she stepped outside and stared up at the brilliant blue sky, painted with only a few fluffy white clouds.

She then noticed the man who was sleeping on her balcony.

"What the hell..." She muttered, hovering over him. She kicked him a bit, but he didn't budge. It was almost as if he were dead, so she checked his pulse... Just to be certain. She shook him by the shoulders. "Sasuke, wake up... Sasuke... Hello..."

The Uchiha grumbled a bit and swatted her away, still completely passed out. With an exasperated sigh, she returned inside and got a glass of water, coming back out only to dump it on his face.

"W-What!?" Sasuke shot up with a bewildered expression, before his eyes focused in on the girl. "Hinata? What the fuck?" He looked around in utter confusion, thinking _why am I here? _Before he remembered the events of the previous night.

Sasuke drank an entire 750 ml bottle of tequila, and very faintly remembered stumbling into town. He was still unsure as to how exactly he got on Hinata's balcony, but at that point, he wasn't too concerned about it; he stood up and started puking off the edge.

"Eeek!" Hinata screeched. "D-Don't puke there! Get to the bathroom!"

Sasuke could hardly think, but he listened to her. He held in his vomit and made it to her toilet, before expelling everything he drank into it. When he was finished, he rolled over and laid down on the floor. He looked up to see Hinata staring down at him with her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"Sasuke-san... Explain yourself."

"I wish I could, but I really have no idea why I'm here."

With a simple sigh, Hinata walked over to the kitchen. "How do you like your eggs?"

He managed to stand himself up, still feeling drunk. He fumbled over to the bed and fell on it. "Scrambled."

Hinata said no more as she prepared eggs for the both of them. She wasn't entirely sure why she was preparing this strange man food, but despite his rude entrance, he was still a guest; if she was making herself food, then she felt obligated to feed him, too. He was clearly too messed up to go home yet anyway.

"You really have a problem with alcohol, Sasuke-san." Hinata said, handing him the plate of eggs. She didn't expect him to make it to the table.

"Last night was a tequila night." He responded nonchalantly, before devouring the eggs. She had hardly even touched hers before he was already finished.

"Maybe you should take a night off." She suggested. "You're going to end up dead one of these days..."

"Eh, good riddance." He muttered grimly, laying down.

Hinata scoffed and ignored him. "Well I can't have you hanging around here all day, I have errands to run."

"It's okay, I'll just sleep." He pulled the blanket over his head.

"Y-You can't just sleep here! Go home and do that!" She exclaimed.

"I'm already here."

_Ugh, what is with this guy? _Hinata thought. _He's so persistent and irritating sometimes. I should just kick him out. Or put him on the balcony and lock it. _But as she looked at him and how comfortable he was, for whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Fine. You can stay here."

Sasuke smirked beneath the blanket. _Not like I was going to leave anyway._

* * *

**A/N:** Hey all! Thanks as always for all of your lovely reviews! :) This chapter was entertaining to write, so I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Please review!**


	16. Of Ecstacy and Fear

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter sixteen; **of ecstasy and fear_

* * *

Hinata couldn't believe that she was actually letting Sasuke sleep at her house. As she walked through the streets of Konoha, on her way downtown, she couldn't shake him out of her head.

_He's so arrogant, _she fumed, before she noticed two familiar faces waving to her from across the street; they were her former classmates, Ino and Tenten, two girls that she had once been fairly close with. These days, they didn't see much of each other, but they still waved to Hinata as if they were best friends.

"Hina-chan!" Ino exclaimed, running up to her and giving her a hug. "It's been so long! Where have you been lately?"

"Yeah, Hinata, we've been worried about you!" Tenten smiled. Hinata awkwardly blushed.

"I've been doing a lot of solo missions lately, to y'know, keep my mind off things." She peeped.

"We haven't hungout for at least two months." Ino pouted, placing her hands on her hips. "I've wanted to get a hold of you, but every time I try, you're out of town or something."

"Well there's no excuses now." Tenten chimed in. "What are you up to? Care to shop with us?"

"W-Well, sure, why not?" Hinata laughed, although she somewhat wanted to be alone. It had been a while since she'd hung out with her only female friends though so she shrugged it off and decided to be social. She'd been spending way too much time with the Uchiha and not enough time with her real friends.

And so the three of them walked downtown and spent a few hours looking through their favourite clothing stores, then finished the day by stopping off at the liquor store. Ino and Tenten were as chatty as ever, but Hinata found herself being fairly quiet, not being able to forget that Sasuke Uchiha was sleeping in her bed and the girls had absolutely no idea.

_How would they react? _The Hyuga girl mused, just as Ino's voice ended her thoughts.

"So how about it, Hina-chan?" The blonde girl smiled.

"W-Wha? How about what?"

"Oh jeez, were you even listening? Ten and I were just discussing how we should drink this sake and have a girls night at your place, like we used to, y'know?"

"O-Oh, n-no I don't think so... It's a big mess, y'know..."

"Nonsense, you're such a clean freak, Hinata-chan!" Tenten exclaimed. At that point, Hinata didn't even realize that they were already directing her back to the apartment. It clicked in then that she was now in a very awful predicament.

"I-I dunno, why don't we just go to the bar or something?"

"I'm down for the bar." Ino said. "But let's drink at your place first."

Hinata's heart was now nearly about to thump out of her chest. Ino grabbed her by the hand and dragged her into the apartment, pulling her lifeless body up all five flights of stairs. Hinata was speechless, trying to think of anything she could do to prevent this from happening, but it was seemingly too late.

As they reached the door, Hinata threw herself in front of it. "G-Guys, I don't want to hangout here. It's really messy and embarrassing and yeah..."

Ino's eyes squinted. "What are you hiding?"

"Yeah, Hinata, you're acting really strange." Tenten muttered. Hinata's face was completely red.

"N-No I'm really not..." Hinata pressed her back against the door in fear.

"Then why won't you let us in?" Ino inquired.

"I-I, um, I j-just..." Hinata sighed; she was out of ideas. "Alright, fine... Only if you _promise _not to tell anyone."

"Swear on my life." Tenten said.

"Me too, I won't even tell Shikamaru or anything. Promise."

Hinata let out another frustrated sigh; she didn't fully trust their word, but at that point, she had no choice but to show them who was sleeping in her apartment. As she unlocked the door, she dreaded how they would react, and knew that they would instantly get the wrong idea.

When they walked in the room, they didn't notice anything. Their eyes scanned the normal looking apartment, before they fell on the bed; in which there was a distinct lump hiding under the blanket. Ino and Tenten exchanged glances, before walking over to the bed. Hinata sat down on a chair and hid her face, awaiting the worst to come.

"Who is it?" Tenten asked, carefully pulling the blanket off his face. Upon seeing him, they gasped simultaneously.

"S-Sasuke-kun!?" Ino practically screeched. The Uchiha rolled over, but did not wake. The two girls turned to Hinata wearing the most shocked expressions she'd ever seen.

"Hinata, you didn't..." Tenten gaped.

"It's not what it looks like." Hinata answered, though the girls looked at her with disbelief.

"Hina-chan, Sasuke-kun is sleeping in your bed... It's exactly what it looks like." Ino spoke.

"Okay, okay come outside, I don't want him to wake up yet." The Hyuga said, directing her two friends onto her balcony.

"You have some explaining to do, miss." Tenten said.

"O-Okay, look. It's _really _not what it looks like. I woke up this morning and found him passed out drunk on my balcony, and he insisted on staying here while I go out because he was so messed up."

Ino suddenly grinned very maliciously. "I didn't think you had it in you, Hinata-chan! This is truly genius!"

"W-What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? After that forehead bitch took away your man, the best way to get revenge was of course to sleep with Sasuke-kun... Because then Naruto gets pissed off and Sakura cringes with jealousy. Am I right?" The blonde winked.

"N-No! It's not like that at all!"

Tenten smirked. "I see what you did there, Hinata-chan. I was shocked at first but this all makes sense."

"Right?" Ino laughed. "You go girl!"

"G-Guys, please, listen to me." Hinata felt as though her head was about to pop off. "I haven't even kissed the guy. It's not like that. I-I don't even like him!"_  
_

"Wait, are you being sincere?" Tenten queried, placing a hand on her hip. "You really haven't even done anything with him?"

"No!" Hinata practically yelled. "It's a bit of a long story how we even became affiliated, but I'm telling the truth. I let him sleep here because he was too drunk to leave, and I couldn't be bothered. He's so persistent and I just didn't have it in me to kick him out today."

"But you like him, right?" Ino grinned.

"No... How could I? You're both forgetting who the person I'm in love with is-"

"Ugh, still?" Ino scoffed. "Okay, we definitely need to have some quality girl time tonight."

"Alright, fine... Can you guys stay out here for a few minutes? I'm going to wake up Sasuke-san."

"I want to see him." Ino stated boldly.

"I dunno, Ino-chan, he might just get mad."

"Pft, like I give a shit. I haven't seen the guy in years. At least let me look at him."

"Do as you wish..." Hinata entered, and despite her request, both Ino and Tenten followed her back inside. She went up to the sleeping Uchiha and poked him a few times until he began to stir.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, pulling the blanket over his face.

"It's 3 o'clock." She responded, pulling it back off him.

"Jesus, woman, you were gone for that long?" Sasuke slowly allowed his eyelids to flutter open and let in some light, just as he noticed that him and Hinata were not the only bodies in the room. "The fuck?" His eyes focused in and instantly recognized the two girl's vaguely familiar figures.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed. "It's so nice to see you!"

Sasuke simply sat there for a moment, dumbfounded, until his dreadful death glare fell on Hinata.

"D-Don't look at me like that." She whispered. "I told you I had stuff to do today and you insisted on staying."

The man sighed, lifting himself off the bed. Ino gaped at how much he had grown, and even Tenten caught herself checking him out. "Well, I'll be on my way then." He said, irritation lacing his voice. He didn't even glance at Hinata as he exited through her balcony, and though she knew she shouldn't have, she felt bad for making him angry.

"Sasuke-kun, wait!" Ino pleaded, but he took off like a hawk in the wind. "Hmph, what a jerk!" She pouted. "Well I see he hasn't changed much in the past few years."

"Yeah, he's interesting..." Hinata muttered sarcastically.

"Interesting?" A mischievous smirk appeared on Ino's face as she swooped down beside her on the bed. "So you _do _like him!"

The girl's face characteristically flushed bright red. "N-No! I was being facetious."

"Mhm, suuuure. I remember when you started going out with that idiot, you had the same reaction when I confronted you." The blonde snickered.

"Hey, Ino, Naruto-sama _is _the Hokage now, you know." Tenten cut in.

"Like I care... He may be a hero to us all but when it comes down to it, he's still an idiot. I hate him for what he did to Hinata-chan."

"That's true, but still."

"I-Ino-chan, I don't like Sasuke-san like t-that." Hinata's voice was quiet and shaky. It was true; she was acting nervous, poking her index fingers together much like she did when she was younger. She didn't act like that much anymore, so Ino wasn't buying it. "I don't even know how I even feel about him in general..." The Hyuga continued. "He kind of just shows up at random times and intrudes on me."

"Welp, if you say so." Ino said satirically.

"Ah, just leave her alone, Ino." Tenten said, taking out the bottle of saké. "Let's just drink and have a good night, it's been too long since the three of us had a night like this."

Hinata was the first one to nod her head in agreement, hoping that Ino wouldn't bring up Sasuke for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Seriously, Hina-chan," Ino slurred as she sipped from her cup of saké, "if I were in your place, I would have done it a _long _time ago."

Hinata's face was bright red as she avoided Ino's piercing blue gaze. "I-Ino-chan, stop... I already told you I'm not interested in him a million times."

"Bullshit!" Ino cackled. "Look at the man! He's like a walking entity of beauty. And he's clearly into you. Also, just _think _about how Naruto and Sakura would react if they found out that you had a thing with Sasuke-kun. They'd be mortified, it'd be perfect!"

"Ugh, you're so malicious, Ino." Tenten scoffed.

"Yeah whatever, as if you wouldn't do it if you had the chance." Ino smirked, and Tenten's face instantly lit up.

"W-What! Nonsense! I've never been interested in him!"

The two continued to bicker, while Hinata blocked them out, drinking faster in high hopes that the alcohol would make her feel better. She wanted to have a good night with her friends but the Sasuke thing plagued her thoughts. It wasn't easy to avoid thinking about him when Ino brought him up consistently. Regardless, Hinata forced herself through the night. The more intoxicated she became, the less she thought in general. She mused that perhaps, that was why Sasuke was such an alcoholic.

* * *

It was around one o'clock in the morning, and Hinata was still awake. She sat at her table, staring out the window at the stars. She was thinking about what the girls had said earlier. _I don't like him like that, do I? _She asked herself, running over the memories that she had built of him since their first encounter. _Sure, he's good looking, but... _Just as this thought crossed her drunken mind, there was a tap at the balcony. Hinata's heart thudded; she wasn't expecting him to return.

Hesitantly, she opened up the door and let him in. The two exchanged no words, only stared into each others eyes before he threw her up against the wall and pinned her by her wrists.

"I'm mad at you, you know." He slurred, locking their eyes and throwing away the key. She whimpered, wanting to look away, but was unable. She was melting; he could feel it. He pressed his fore head to hers, brushing her lightly with his lips.

"S-Stop..." She managed to speak meekly.

"I don't think you want me to."

"P-Please stop." Her eyes held a glint of uncertainty in them, and Sasuke felt as though he could have pushed this much farther; but she asked him to stop, and so he did. He let go of her wrists and unpinned her body, leaving her with shivers across every inch of her skin. Her knees trembled, as she was unsure if what she had just experienced was fear, lust, or both. The Uchiha finally stepped away from her, allowing her to breathe, though Hinata could not speak; she was dumbfounded. Esctacy fluttered through her body. She was light headed now, fumbling to make it to the bed before she collapsed. "Hey, are you alright?" Sasuke said, noting her dramatic fall. She said nothing, so the man crawled to the bed and rolled her on her back. "She's... Sleeping?" He nudged her, but she didn't move, and so he picked her up and placed her properly under the covers. As he was moving her, she muttered fragmented gibberish.

"Naruto...Kun..."

Sasuke scoffed. _I see how it is, _he thought, staring down at her sleeping face. The moonlight reflecting off her white skin only amplified her beauty, and for a moment there, he thought of her appearance as more than just aesthetically pleasing. And that was when he knew it was time to go.

He wasn't sure what he was thinking by even going there. As usual, he was drunk, and was hoping that she would give in and sleep with him. _She's still in love with that idiot, _he thought as he darted through across the rooftops, a foreign feeling burning up inside of his chest. He recognized disappointment, but it wasn't only that; he was experiencing something he had never felt before...

_Is this... Jealousy? _He pondered, and came to two options; A: He was just incredibly drunk, or B: He wanted more from Hinata than just sex. And now, a new emotion greeted the others; and that was fear.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys, thank you kindly as always for your reviews! :) I'd really like to know how you feel about this chapter, as I was iffy about it... Also, I hope that you're enjoying the progress of this story; I hope that things don't seem too rushed, or too slow :P

**Please review!**


	17. Foreign Feelings

**The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit**

* * *

_**chapter seventeen; **foreign feelings_

* * *

Hinata woke up in a confused, disoriented daze. She didn't realize how drunk Ino and Tenten had got her until her pounding headache crept in. She ran to the kitchen and greedily chugged a cup of water, not caring if it was lukewarm. She panted heavily, fragmented memories of the night before running through her mind.

"Oh god, why..." She murmured, thinking of Sasuke and what he had done. More so, how he had made her feel. Hinata held her bangs off her face with both of her hands and kept them there, pacing around the room with her elbows pointing up. She looked ridiculous, but that wasn't what was on her mind; _I was.. Actually... Aroused... By that._

She flopped on the bed and stared blankly up at the ceiling, a heavy blanket of shame crippling her body. _I can't believe this. I'm so disgusting. _She allowed the memory to take over; when he pressed her body against the wall, and when his lips lightly grazed over her skin, but especially those eyes of his; she shuddered, but much to her dismay, it was not in disgust.

"Ugh, FUCK!" She screamed, before uncharacteristically flopping over. This can't happen!" She exclaimed, hyperventilating. _This so can't be happening. I can't like him..._

She took a deep breath to try to regain her composure. She realized that she was overreacting, but she couldn't help it. She was shy by nature and if she had a thing with the infamous Sasuke Uchiha, the same one who betrayed the village, everyone would talk about it. Of course, Sasuke _did _come back to the village during the war and was a huge role in helping save it, but the people still never really forgave him. Most of the town complained that Naruto still spoke with him and employed him as an ANBU, because he was so untrustworthy based on his history. But Naruto was different from Hinata; he was the Hokage, and everybody loved him.

Who was she? She was the girl the Hokage dated, cheated on, and left. She was the failed heiress of the Hyuga clan who was overthrown by her younger sister.

She didn't need the title of _The Uchiha's Whore _added on to that as well.

But after she was done freaking out, she remembered all the time's she'd had with Sasuke so far; his weird quirks, his stoic demeanour, and that smile that she was lucky enough to see every once in a while. She remembered what he had said to her that one night before they went to Amegakure, where he said that Naruto didn't deserve her. Sure, he was annoying, persistent and weird, but when Hinata thought of him she didn't think of this horrible monster who betrayed the village.

In fact, in Sasuke, Hinata saw a very damaged person. He was no monster, he just had a hard life.

And must still have one, she thought; living in exile, never able to show his face or have friends; he didn't seem to care, but Hinata knew that there was a human _somewhere _under that shell; she saw a glint of it the other night, as their eyes locked with intensity. _That _was no monster; that was human.

* * *

Hinata was surprised to get called to the Hokage's office that day. Her palms were sweaty the whole time she was going there as she was worried that Ino or Tenten told someone about her secret. But thankfully, that was not the case.

"I was wondering if you wanted to continue on this mission." The Hokage said, handing Hinata a document. She read it over; it was a list of two different locations. "These locations are confirmed to be terrorist bases; we're not certain, but it seems likely that they're working together. One is just outside of Amegakure, where Aki Daichi and the other people on file reside, and one is just outside of Suna. So they're relatively close to each other. There are a few other bases but they're already being investigated."

"I see..." Hinata said. "So you would like me to go to Amegakure and Suna?" She gulped, remembering her previous encounter with the Rain.

"Well you shouldn't have to enter the village; the base is located in the forest nearby the Rain, and in a cave nearby the Sand. I'm gunna give you a map with the marked locations."

"Okay..." Hinata felt reluctant. "I guess I'll do it."

"Great!" He smiled. "Basically, eavesdrop, and if you can, grab some more of their documents."

"Why don't we just capture them all?"

Naruto shrugged. "We want to know what we're up against before we just go grab them. That's why I chose to send you, because I know you like solo missions."

"I-I guess..."

The Hokage's expression suddenly twisted in a childish manner. "I really wish I could get into this mission first-hand... I didn't realize being the Hokage would involve so much sitting around." Hinata didn't know what to say, so Naruto continued. He laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I mean, it's not like I don't do anything; I'm always swarmed with paperwork and such... I just really want to be part of the action! Like the good old days, right?"

The girl blushed and averted his gaze, unsure why Naruto was speaking to her about this. A memory flashed through her mind as she recalled when Pain had attacked the village, and Naruto had been the one to save it. Hinata almost died that day in a feeble attempt to protect the one she loved.

"I'm sorry, but I should go now, Naruto-sama." Hinata said simply, before turning to leave the room. Naruto blinked after her in amazement, a foreign feeling welling up inside him as he realized for the first time in his life, Hinata called him something other than Naruto-_kun._

* * *

Hinata had prepared for the mission and left mid-day. She was pissed off, hungover, and confused by Naruto's strange behavior to her earlier. It seemed like he was trying to engage in a non-work related conversation with her, which she was not too keen on. He had brought back a very troublesome memory for her.

She fumed as she walked through the forest. She wasn't even sure what this madness was; _Is this resentment? _She pondered, genuinely curious. She was not vengeful by nature, and maybe it was just her hangover talking, but she was _pissed _that she had risked her life for him like that and he treated her so horribly.

_He could have at least broke up with me as soon as he hooked up with Sakura... Who knows how many times they actually slept together while him and I lived in the same damn house? It could have been months, hell, it could have been a lot longer than that he was acting-_

"Something wrong?" A bored, uncaring voice rang in from behind her, snapping her from her enraged reverie. She swirled around and caught eyes with Sasuke, who looked apathetic with his hands in his pockets.

"How long have you been there?" She asked.

"Just got here."

"Oh." She waited for him to catch up, before they continued walking at a casual pace next to each other.

"I figured you would have been running. Why so slow?"

"My head hurts. I drank too much last night."

"I see." They walked in silence for a few more moments. "So, you never answered my question. What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing..." She averted his gaze, though her demeanour showed the opposite of what she was saying. She wore an angry pout and her cheeks were flushed pink, not in the normal, embarrassed way that they were.

"You seem pissed."

Hinata was silent. Her? Pissed? "No, I'm not."

Sasuke let out a small, exasperated breath. "Look, I didn't mean-"

"It's not about you." She harshly cut him off, and he sent her a look of surprise.

"Oh? You're awfully snappy today."

"I'm not in the mood, Sasuke-san."

"Well, if it's not about me, then what did the idiot do?"

Hinata rolled her eyes. Was it really worth it to argue with Sasuke? He would make her tell him about it eventually, anyway. With a sigh, she confided. "I just feel... Angry at him. And angry at myself. When I spoke to him this morning, it seemed like he was trying to converse with me as if we were friends. Do you know what I mean?"

"So you're finally starting to realize that he was horrible to you and you should hate him for it?"

"Uh... Maybe? I don't know, I've never felt this way about him before. I was just thinking about how much I've done for him... I mean, he could have at least had the decency to be honest with me! Who knows how many times I slept in the same bed with him right after he'd slept in the same bed as _her?_" Hinata realized that she was venting and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to rant..."

"Hn. I asked, didn't I? Anyway, I'm surprised it took you so long to realize this... You feel genuinely angry now, don't you?"

She nodded meekly. "I never feel like this..."

"It's normal. If anything, it is abnormal that you're only now feeling these emotions."

"I suppose." Hinata's mind trailed off, no longer thinking of Naruto, but then man who walked beside her now. She had forgotten that he was actually mad at her the day before, for revealing him to Ino and Tenten, but why didn't he bring it up? And when he came into her room last night, why did he respond like _that, _and not tell her off? She remembered his words clearly; _"I'm mad at you, you know."_

A flutter flew through her chest and tingled her body in unexpected ways when she remembered the position he'd forced her in. He dominated her, and the more she thought about it, the more she regretfully grew accustomed to the idea.

"What exactly would you call this?" Hinata peeped, lacking confidence. Sasuke sent her a twisted look.

"What do you mean?"

"T-This... This strange relationship you and I have had lately..."

"Oh." Sasuke was dumbfounded, not expecting her to be so upfront. "I uh, I dunno." There was a long pause of awkward silence before he spoke again. "What do you think it is? I guess I should say, am I a friend to you?"

"I don't know what you are to me." She spoke meekly.

"Hn. If you hate me, just say it."

She glanced over and saw that he had his arms crossed and was pouting. "I-I don't hate you..."

"Hn. This conversation is stupid. I don't want to have it." Sasuke's pace increased slightly.

"What's wrong?" She dared to ask.

"Like you care..." He muttered.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just shut up." He started walking faster so they were no longer aligned.

"Sasuke-san-"

"What?" He snapped, turning on his heel to met her sad eyes with his angered ones. She felt guilty, recognizing that she had somehow angered him.

"I-I'm sorry." She peeped. He simply scoffed and kept on walking ahead of her, and for whatever other worldly reason Hinata now felt sad. She jogged up so they could at least walk side by side. The two walked in silence for a while before they reached the forest. Hinata looked up to the sky to see that a storm was brewing; and it was getting late, they wouldn't make it to shelter before the rain. She grew uneasy, but was afraid to speak.

Sasuke was actually the first to comment on it. "Looks like there's a storm coming."

"Y-Yeah..."

"It's getting late. Perhaps we should just seek shelter now."

"I like that idea, but where?" Thunder was heard nearby, sending shivers up Hinata's spine. Sasuke looked over to see that there was the side of a cliff a small distance away.

"If we go over there, we may find a cave." He suggested, changing his direction. Hinata followed obediently just a bit behind him, staring at his back the whole time. She was so confused about his unexpected reaction earlier, and he was still being all weird and distant. Just as they were nearing the side of the cliff, the rain started to pour, and a flash of lighting sparked above. Hinata screeched and started running.

"We don't have time to walk!" She exclaimed. Sasuke appeared ahead of her in a moment, and within seconds they were at the wall. It only took them a few minutes to find a decent cave; it was small, and was really more like a crevice, but it worked. Hinata was uneasy at the size of it, though; their bodies were touching.

A loud crash of thunder boomed and Hinata instinctively pulled her knees to her head, trying to hide. They were there for about a half hour and the storm started to get really bad; Hinata's body would not stop trembling.

"I-I hate this..." She muttered. "I just wanna go home... I didn't know this was going to happen..." She was practically in tears, and when she lifted her head to meet Sasuke's eyes, he couldn't stop himself. He grabbed her body and pulled her into a tight embrace, resting her on his chest. Hinata's eyes bulged out of her head. "W-What are you-"

"Be quiet..." He said in a surprisingly calm tone, squeezing her tighter. "Just relax. The storm will pass. You won't get hurt. Besides, women have weak bodies, you might get sick if you don't keep warm... That would be awfully inconvenient."

Hinata wanted to make a statement; she would have said _that's sexist, Sasuke-san, women and men are all the same; _but her lips created no words. She stumbled, stuttered over sentences but could not create one accurate enough.

Simply put, Hinata was feeling emotional. She wanted to cry, not out of sadness, but just because of her emotional tornado. She was disgusted in herself for thinking of Sasuke the way she had been, and she was angry about it too, but she was also happy, because for the first time in what felt like forever she actually felt somewhat of a _connection _to another being. This fear outweighed even her irrational fear of storms.

Sasuke let out a sigh, snapping her from her lost thoughts. "What would you do without me?" He queried rhetorically. Hinata still couldn't speak, and she felt his hand pet her head and stroke through her hair, leaving trails of electricity behind every touch. "You know, Naruto didn't tell me to come with you."

"H-He... He didn't? Then why-"

"I don't know. I just think that my life would be a lot less interesting if something bad happened to you. I had to tag along to make sure that didn't happen."

Hinata blushed. Sasuke really did have a funny way of wording things, but she knew that this was his way of saying that he didn't want her to die. _Which is nice, I guess... _She unintentionally nuzzled her head more into the crook of his neck, not even realizing that she was actually cuddling the man.

"Um, thank you." She muttered. "I really don't know what would happen to me now if you weren't with me..."

"Look, about last night..." The man trailed off, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. "I was just really drunk-"

"It's fine." She cut him off. Her voice cracked and was shaky.

"You're trembling." Sasuke commented, holding her tighter.

"S-Sorry..." Hinata was overflowing with emotion, something she hadn't felt in a _long _time... No, this feeling was different. This was new. If liking Sasuke was so wrong, then why did she feel so utterly content in his arms? She had never even felt this from Naruto. It was like time was frozen still, and she was warm, and safer than she'd ever been. She forgot all about the storm, and Naruto, and every bad thing that could have happened in that moment and focused on nothing but the feeling of their bodies in contact.

Sasuke didn't even understand himself why he was doing this. He had _never _held anyone the way he was holding her; it was the first time he'd held a woman in a non-sexual way. He too, was feeling things that he'd never experienced before. And it was all happening so fast. The way that her small frame fit perfectly to him, and how she smelled lightly of flowers and sweet things. He didn't realize how much he'd wanted to hold her until then. He enhaled deeply, absorbing the moment as his own. He'd been half expecting for her to struggle against him and demand not to be touched, but she succumbed to him; in fact, he could feel her clinging to him, her heart beating in unison with his, and he felt like he was finally starting to win in this war.

He never knew what it was like to feel truly content; blissful, even. Sasuke was a man who was plagued with nightmares for as long as he could remember. His life had always been devoid of happiness; he'd forgotten what it even felt like to feel joy without being intoxicated beyond the point of comprehension. And for the first time in what felt like ages, Sasuke was able to fall asleep soundly without the help of alcohol.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you as always for all of the lovely reviews, you guys rock! Sorry that my chapters are kinda short x) I hope you enjoyed this anyway.

Please drop a **review **and let me know what you think!


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